- April 14, 2025
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A $100 million sports complex, previously proposed at the Palm Coast City Council, was met with cautious positivity from the Flagler County Commission.
The facility would be built through a public private partnership. The landowner — Rayonier, a global forester company — has offered to donate the land to the county, who would then lease it to a private company for $1. That company would then build the facility out of its own pocket and lease the facility back to the county, until the county eventually pays it off.
"We essentially pay it back like a mortgage on a home," County Administrator Heidi Petito said. "It'll be paid back by users of the facilities [and] tourism, and that way it lessens the cost on the taxpayer. In other words, it's not your property tax dollars paying it back."
Jason Boudrie, Synergy Sports' owner, presented the idea to the Flagler County Board of County Commissioners at an April 7 workshop meeting. Boudrie said the complex would begin returning revenue to the county by its third year.
"After year two, the facility is able to support its own operating expenses and its own debt, and it will return a modest amount back to the county," Boudrie said. "$170,000, $500,000, $800,000, over the years, three, four and five."
The facility would comprise of an outdoor grass stadium, a mix of 20 grass and turf flat fields (all with lights, bleachers and scoreboards) and more facilities indoors: pickleball, basketball and volleyball courts and a 200 meter indoor track. The track would be only the second indoor track field in the state, Boudrie said.
The site would also contain plenty of parking and amenities like playgrounds, food and hospitality spaces and leasable spaces.
The land proposed for the facility is in unincorporated Flagler County on the west side of Highway U.S. 1, at the apex of where Palm Coast's proposed loop connector road will go. The loop connector road will connect Matanzas and Palm Coast Parkways in a semicircle "loop."
Palm Coast Chief of Staff Jason DeLorenzo told the Observer that Palm Coast has funding for phases 2 and 2A, 3 and 4 from state appropriations, and the Florida Department of Transportation is reviewing those funding agreements. Once that is done and the City Council accepts them, the loop connector road will go out to be rebid.
DeLorenzo said how much of the road is built in that bid will depend on how much money the city has for it. It will likely only get them to the halfway point, he said.
But the sports complex is not dependent on the loop road beginning construction first, Boudrie said. The two can even be built concurrently.
The commissioners, and those Flagler County residents in attendance, were overall receptive to the idea of the complex.
"This is a gift to the community," Commissioner Pam Richardson said. "Every person in here, I haven't seen anybody going 'ew,' and that's a wonderful thing."
FINANCIAL IMPACT
Boudrie said Synergy Sports estimates the sports complex will have an economic impact of over $79 million in direct and indirect spending in just its first year. By year five, the company projects that will go up to $117 million.
But supporting the facility once it is open will depend mainly on the naming rights, he said.
Synergy Sports estimates there is around $33 million in revenue to be had just from the naming rights. Boudrie suggested the county use funding from the naming rights to create a $3 million reserve fund to help support the facility in the first two years.
"In this situation, the county doesn't have to come out of general revenues to pay any of the expenses for the sports complex," Boudrie said.
But just in the first year, he said, the county could expect to generate just over $1 million in county and tourism tax revenue.
When the economy is good, parents travel with their kids for youth sports. When the economy is bad, parents travel with their kids for youth sports. It is year round. It is not going to go away."
- JOHN PHILLIPS, president of the Palm Coast-Flagler Regional Chamber of Commerce
Commissioner Greg Hansen asked what kind of impact the facility would have on Palm Coast's fields. Boudrie said the new facility would in fact support Palm Coast's fields and potentially provide additional opportunity.
John Phillips, the new president of the Palm Coast-Flagler Regional Chamber of Commerce, said a sports complex like this - including the indoor track and outdoor facilities - is in high demand.
"When the economy is good, parents travel with their kids for youth sports. When the economy is bad, parents travel with their kids for youth sports. It is year round. It is not going to go away," Phillips said. "If we don't act quickly, someone else might beat us to the punch."
THE PROBLEMS IN PALM COAST
The city of Palm Coast began showing an interest in building the sports complex in December 2023. Because of the previous City Council's interest in the project, and the lack alternatives ways to fund large projects like it, the city began working towards amending a section of the city's charter that restricted how much funds the city could borrow at once and for how long to allow the city to enter into this partnership.
The city placed the charter amendment on the November 2024 ballot, where residents ultimately voted against it. In many council meetings leading up to the election, residents told the council they felt the language in the amendment was "misleading."
Petito told the Observer she believed the issues with the sports complex in Palm Coast were based mainly on the city charter amendment and on a misconception of how a public private partnership would work. The money to build this facility will not come from tax payer dollars, she said, but instead from private investors who will develop the project on the county's land.
NOT JUST TOURNAMENTS
For some, one of the major upsides of the large facility will be the ability to host other large events there. Boudrie pointed out in his presentation that the indoor courts could be used for a myriad of events, even high school graduations.
Both the Matanzas and Flagler Palm Coast High Schools have to be held at the Ocean Center in Daytona.
"We have to take our parents and our kids to another community to graduate, because we don't have the capacity of building facilities for that," Agnes Lightfoot said. "This will answer one of the questions."
Commission Chair Andy Dance said asked the county to discuss the potential needs of a facility for the high school graduations with Flagler Schools. Dance said the county has two large high schools, which means big crowds.
"If we can nail a seating capacity that meets the requirements of holding graduation, here in the county, I think that just kind of seals where everybody can kind of get behind the project," Dance said.
Resident Lori Ratto said she sees many possible benefits from a facility that large. In her work experience, she said, they depended on facilities like the sports complex for events and fundraisers.
"The need for this far extends that of a sports complex, because it will be used for other areas all throughout here," she said.
One Flagler County resident expressed concern about residents being unable to either use or afford to use the facility. Boudrie said that wouldn't be the case - the sports complex will be split between sports tourism and local community use. Monday through Thursday, for example, he said, would likely just be the community using the facility, while tournaments come in on the weekends.
"It's not designed or intended to be an elitist kind of facility where you can't get in if you don't pay," Boudrie said.
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