Innisbrook Resort and Golf Club, the sprawling Palm Harbor property that hosts the PGA Tour's Valspar Championship every spring, is changing hands. Salamander Collection has agreed to sell the resort to affiliates of Concert Golf Partners for $19.8 million in cash plus the assumption of certain liabilities, with closing targeted for Dec. 31.
The deal, reported by Tampa Bay Business & Wealth on Nov. 3 before the Business Observer article dated Nov. 4, is still pending and subject to possible extensions and other conditions. As part of the arrangement, Salamander will hold onto roughly 34 acres and development entitlements for future projects, even as it hands over the resort's four golf courses, the main property, three condominium units and related assets. The sale was also reported by Connect CRE, which covers the property's location in the Palm Harbor area of Tampa Bay.
Salamander Collection, led by billionaire Sheila Johnson, bought the 600-acre resort from Golf Trust of America for $35 million back in 2007, according to the same Business Observer reporting. The company has periodically shed pieces of the land since then — it sold about 54 acres to homebuilder Toll Brothers in 2023 for net proceeds of $12.5 million, a land deal separate from the resort sale itself, as detailed by Billionaires Africa.
What Stays the Same for Now
Innisbrook will remain open and continue operating throughout the transition, and the report notes no immediate operational changes are planned at this time. Concert Golf Partners intends to retain Innisbrook's team, and Salamander Collection will remain involved in a consulting capacity following closing, according to Golfweek.
The resort traces back to 1960 and sits on 600 rolling acres, per the same Golfweek account. Its footprint includes four golf courses totaling 63 holes, more than 300 guest rooms, about 65,000 square feet of meeting space, multiple restaurants and bars, a spa, six pools and tennis courts, according to Connect CRE's reporting on the sale.
Valspar Championship's Future Locked In
Golf fans don't need to worry about losing the tournament. Innisbrook's Copperhead Course has hosted the PGA Tour's Valspar Championship since 2000, and an agreement keeps the event at the resort through 2030, according to Tampa Bay Business & Wealth. The 2027 edition's competition rounds are scheduled to run May 6 through May 9, ending on Mother's Day, per the Business Observer.
Behind the sale is a financial picture that has softened in recent years. Innisbrook employed 474 people at year-end 2025, the Business Observer reports, and the resort posted $46.5 million in revenue that year, down 1.6% from 2024. That translated to a $2.15 million net loss, compared with a $2.01 million net loss the prior year.
Hurricane Damage Weighed on Business
The resort's own annual report attributed much of the slide to weaker demand for hotel rooms and food-and-beverage business following Hurricanes Helene and Milton, the back-to-back storms that hit Florida's Gulf Coast. Room revenue alone fell 10.6%, with management pointing to the same storm-driven slowdown in lodging and dining business, per Tampa Bay Business & Wealth's reporting. Innisbrook had also incurred about $816,000 in storm damage during the 2024 hurricanes, according to the Business Observer.
Beyond the immediate transaction, county planning records show Salamander has previously pursued future land-use map amendments tied to an 844.55-acre development master plan, including a proposed transfer of unused residential density, according to Pinellas County meeting minutes. Those records are limited in scope and don't establish whether that proposal was ultimately approved. For now, the headline news for Palm Harbor and the broader Tampa Bay golf community is simpler: new ownership is taking over one of the region's signature resorts, while the Valspar Championship keeps its home.
