The 2024 NCF Master Plan shows a proposed baseball field and stadium using all the land New College owns at the NE corner of US41 and University Parkway, plus some land the school leases from the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority for the outfield.
The remaining east campus (34+ acres) is owned by the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority and leased to New College. The SMAA tried to sell those 34+ acres to the school earlier this year, but the Federal Aviation Administration stopped the sale as not in the airport's best interest. The FAA protected the national airport system from the short-term interests of the SMAA and state government officials.
Carlos Beruff, the longest-serving SMAA board member, donated $1M to New College to construct a baseball stadium with his name on it. The only street access to the school's east campus and that baseball stadium is across airport land via General Spaatz Blvd. The ball stadium will be too close to the US41/University Parkway intersection to allow any new street access to be created on New College-owned land, so this new stadium will always rely upon using SMAA land.
All of the stadium's parking area is on airport land. Much of the outfield will also be on airport land. If the SMAA ever wants to use its own land for airport purposes, this Beruff baseball field and stadium could be an obstacle to doing so.
Worded another way, the stadium could be built elsewhere on airport land leased to New College if both parties agreed to that. But baseball is the main sport at the school, with the most student-athletes, and the stadium will be costly, so New College prefers to build it on land they own rather than on land they lease from SMAA.
Unfortunately, it cannot be built entirely on New College-owned land because its holdings are insufficient for the stadium and the ball field. The school-owned land has no street access off US41 or University Parkway, no auto parking, utilities, drainage, etc. So, they plan to make the stadium dependent upon the use of airport land for the stadium’s entire life, extending beyond the end of their lease of airport land.
That sets up a bad future situation if the airport ever wants to use its land for airport uses; that would make the New College baseball field useless by eliminating much of the outfield. The SMAA is creating a situation where they “must sell land to New Collge in the future.” Both New College and the SMAA choose to ignore this issue now as they focus on their short-term interests. They may consider this future issue a feature, not a bug.
Building codes don't allow new construction without street access and parking on its own land, but New College is exempt from local land use and zoning requirements, and the SMAA is not objecting. New College and SMAA boards and administrators continue to pursue the short-term interests of the school over the long-term interests of the airport, even after the FAA rejected the sale of airport land because the airport may need that land someday for airport uses.
Apparently, this is what those who were appointed to New College and SMAA governing boards want them to do: keep taking action to make it more and more difficult for the airport to ever recover its land from New College.
John Schussler is a retired properties manager for the Sarasota Manatee International Airport.
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GCDUBBAU
If you were tasked with finding the most ridiculous and inaccessible location for a college ballpark, this location would rank high on the list. Common sense alone tells the most casual observer this is a silly location. Don’t take my word, drive by, see for yourself.
Wednesday, December 18, 2024 Report this
jimandlope
Agree entirely the location is inaccessible, unless you’re flying in! But let’s look at the rest of this idiotic situation. The last I looked New College is an extremely close neighbor to College of South Florida (they are practically one and the same since Hillsdale College took over New College) Do we need two baseball fields, two gymnasiums, two college Presidents? Yada yada yada Jim Tierney
Wednesday, December 18, 2024 Report this
Cat L
Welcome to the kingdom of short sighted selfish action....
The disrespect surrounding New College is complete.
Wednesday, December 18, 2024 Report this
Charles
— suspect this is a first step in "a concept of a plan" to get a reversal of the FAA decision (a real objective), stay tuned, plus collaborative corruption with the bonus of two billboards for someone who has polluted one place after another in the region. There is no logic to what is transpiring at the college, it is being made up as needed momentarily and subject to change at any moment.
Wednesday, December 18, 2024 Report this
klmsinc
For as bright as New College has proclaimed to be, doesn't anyone see a conflict of interest pertaining to Carlos Beruff and the SMAA?
Wednesday, December 18, 2024 Report this