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Nathan Benderson Park, located at
2500 Honore Ave., is a unique 600-acre park which provides the
public access to a 500-acre lake and two smaller lakes for
non-motorized boating, fishing, bird-watching and related
activities. The county purchased the site in the early 1990’s.
Before that, the property had been an active shell excavation
pit for road construction fill. Cooper Creek enters the east
side of the large lake and exits at the northwest corner. Nathan Benderson park is situated west of Interstate 75 and east of The
Meadows residential community. The future north Cattlemen Road
extension will provide additional access to the park and its
amenities. Existing park amenities include:
- Concrete boat ramp
- Fishing pier
- Small picnic shelter
- Restrooms
- Recreational trail
One of a handful of sites in
North America identified as having all of the natural attributes
that make up a premiere rowing facility, Nathan Benderson Park
began hosting organized regatta competitions in 2009. The
Sarasota County Commission has demonstrated its support for
further development of the park into a state-of-the-art rowing
facility with a financial commitment tied to Sarasota county’s
Tourism Development Tax (TDT).
Two successful regattas were held in 2009, followed by four in
2010. The Local Regatta Organizing Committee, Sarasota Board of
County Commissioners, Sarasota Convention & Visitor’s Bureau,
and several hundred volunteers collaborated this spring to
sharpen the focus on development of Sarasota’s future home of
world-class rowing at Nathan Benderson Park. Visit the
websites below for more information on rowing regattas:
The park is bordered on the north
by University Town Center, which is currently under development
by Benderson Development. Benderson and Sarasota County have
partnered together to plan for future improvements and have held
several community workshops to solicit ideas for the future
recreational opportunities at Nathan Benderson Park. A detailed
master plan has been developed to ensure environmental and
neighborhood compatibilities. The park has the capability to
balance community recreation needs and provide a venue for large
specialty events. The planned world class recreational venue
will provide for community rowing (youth, adults and seniors),
adaptive rowing (disabled veterans, youth/adults with mental and
physical disabilities), corporate events, training and practice
for junior and collegiate crews, local, regional, national and
international regattas.
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Click on a photo to enlarge |
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John
McCarthy speaking with citizens at the public
meeting |
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Public
meeting participants |
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Sarasota World Class
Rowing Venue |
Current activities and next steps
- Sarasota County and
Benderson Development hosted a public meeting on June 24 to
present the Park Concept Plan and to share draft plans for
short-term improvements to the park. The documents below
were discussed at the public meeting.
- County staff and Benderson
Development presented the park plan to the
Parks Advisory and Recreation Council (PARC)
on July 1 and to the Sarasota County Commission on July
14.
- The County Commission
unanimously approved the plan and directed the staff to
proceed with design/engineering and to seek additional input
on financing options.
- For questions regarding park
amenities, the planning process and next steps, contact
941-861-5000 or e-mail
parksquestions@scgov.net
Resources
Rowing Regatta page
About
the “Future World-Class 2,000
Meter Rowing Facility"
Video:
"World Class Rowing Sarasota"
Video of Nathan Benderson
Park “2000 Meters by 2011”
Map of Nathan Benderson Park
Nathan
Benderson Park Fact Sheet
- If you would like to reserve
open space for a special event or utilize the racecourse at
Nathan Benderson Park, contact Carolyn Brown at
941-861-9866.
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