Clermont City Council members voted 4-1 to keep negotiating with an Orlando sports company over a $12 million recreation complex that would transform the city's Arts and Recreation Center site near U.S. 27, replacing its outdoor pickleball courts with covered ones and adding a sports bar, padel courts and a two-story entertainment venue. The vote does not finalize a deal, but it directs city staff to continue hashing out terms with Vasant Sports LLC for the proposed $12 million recreation complex.
What Vasant Sports Wants to Build
According to GrowthSpotter, Vasant Sports LLC filed an unsolicited proposal to expand the existing Arts and Recreation Center site, where 12 lighted outdoor pickleball courts currently sit. The company's plan calls for replacing those courts with 12 covered ones designed to host tournaments and larger events over the next 20 to 25 years, while adding six padel courts and five beach volleyball or beach tennis courts. Altogether, the proposed facility would contain 23 indoor courts.
The centerpiece of the plan, tentatively named The Prime Spot, would be a two-floor, 30,000-square-foot clubhouse and entertainment venue with full food and beverage service, the outlet reports. Its ground floor would house a 15,000-square-foot sports bar, kitchen, pro shop, fitness center, and golf and pickleball simulators, while the upper deck would feature another 15,000-square-foot full-length bar with event space and views overlooking the courts.
Lease Terms and Financial Structure
Under the arrangement being negotiated, Clermont would offer a 30-year lease on part of the ARC property, with an option to extend another 30 years, and Vasant Sports would handle both construction and long-term operations, per the same report. The company would pay the city monthly payments equal to 4% of net proceeds, and Clermont would get full access to Vasant's financial records. Vasant has said it will not request city funding and expects to finance the project through private equity or a bank loan, and company representatives told the council that facility ownership remains subject to negotiation and that the building could be repurposed for city use or other activities if the project does not move forward.
The proposal follows an assessment the city contracted with ABA Ethos to review Clermont's parks and recreation facilities this year, and that review identified opportunities at the existing ARC site that spurred the city's search for a private partner, the outlet notes. The ARC itself is a 69,000-square-foot building with a gym, public swimming pool and two theaters, and a 2024 report in the Clermont Sun noted that more than 80,000 people had visited since October 2023. The site has already seen incremental investment: the South Lake Tablet reported that council approved six additional lighted, covered pickleball courts there in 2024 for an estimated $500,000 or more.
Council Members Split Over Risk
Not every council member was on board. Tim Murry raised concerns over the proposed 30-year lease and questioned whether the city would retain the building if the project failed and closed, according to GrowthSpotter's reporting. Alison Strange opposed the proposed 4% net-proceeds payment structure and requested a gross-based or guaranteed payment instead, while also pushing Vasant Sports to engage the surrounding community during permitting and planning; she said she supports the proposal's broader goal of activating the property.
Bryan Bain cast the lone dissenting vote, citing the lack of council approval for the ABA Ethos assessment that helped spur the search for a private partner at the site. Despite the dissent, the council's 4-1 vote directs staff to proceed with contract negotiations, though no final agreement or lease has been approved.
How It Compares to Ocoee's Pickleball Boom
Vasant Sports is also behind a 26-court pickleball complex planned in Ocoee, where city commissioners unanimously approved a final site plan in August and held a pre-construction meeting on November 10, 2026, the same GrowthSpotter report states. That project, set on roughly six acres along Jacob Nathan Boulevard, will include 25 indoor courts and one outdoor championship court across three buildings totaling about 114,000 square feet, with a main building featuring a 150-seat restaurant, three bars, golf simulators and a pickleball merchandise shop, plus a separate banquet hall, locker rooms, a sauna, and meeting and event space. GrowthSpotter previously reported that Ocoee had rejected an earlier 44-court outdoor proposal after neighbors raised noise concerns, and that construction on the approved version is expected to take 15 to 18 months once it breaks ground.
Clermont's pickleball and padel ambitions aren't limited to the ARC site, either. GrowthSpotter has also reported on a separate proposed 30,000-square-foot recreation and restaurant facility along Oakley Seaver Drive that would include three restaurants and four paddleball courts, reflecting a broader local appetite for racquet-sport development.
