WEC plans for massive sports complex clears hurdle

An aerial view of the proposed development area at the World Equestrian Center is shown in Ocala, Fla. on Friday, June 6, 2025. [Michael Warren/Special to the Ocala Gazette] 2025.

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Posted July 2, 2025 | By Belea T. Keeney [email protected]

Over the objections of more than a dozen residents, the Marion County Planning & Zoning Commission approved a controversial sports complex at the World Equestrian Center on 251 acres at the southwest corner of the WEC property designated for low residential use at its June 30 meeting. The commission also approved an expansion to the Sunkissed Village RV Resort on South U.S. Highway 441 while denying an expanded rural activity center near Gilbert’s Hardware Store on State Road 326.

The P&Z Commission serves as an advisory function in the county, listening to initial applications and holding public hearings; ultimately, the Board of County Commissioners will have a final vote on the applications. The BOCC will consider each of these requests at its July 21 meeting.

Sports complex at World Equestrian Center approved

Golden Ocala Equestrian Land LLC, the entity for the WEC organization, had three agenda items for discussion related to its plans for a massive sports complex on land previously designated for low residential use and “equestrian estates,” a Comprehensive Plan Large Scale Text Amendment to allow for the sports complex, a comp plan map amendment and a revision to the WEC Planned Unit Development.

County staff recommended approval in its report and the P&Z commissioners voted 4-0 to approve all three applications.

Attorney Jimmy Gooding, representing the WEC team, said WEC was not made just for equine uses. This expansion would serve the general community, he said. Along with engineer David Tillman, also representing WEC, they stated that there is a need for sports fields and other non-equine activities in the area.

If you’re attending a WEC event and don’t participate in showing, Tillman said, you might be bored. Families of people showing at WEC “don’t all ride horses” and this would offer other things to do on the site. The complex would host sports tournaments of all kinds, and the application also asked for usage changes to allow for concerts.

The application proposes eight full-size synthetic turf multipurpose soccer, lacrosse and football fields; three natural turf soccer/lacrosse fields; six synthetic turf multipurpose baseball/softball fields; and a championship soccer field with increased seating. An indoor facility will have two full-sized ice sheets, eight full-sized basketball courts with the ability to function as 16 volleyball courts and a full-sized synthetic turf soccer pitch.

The complex also would house two restaurants and multiple fan-support buildings containing concessions, restrooms and field maintenance needs, according to the documents. “Sports at WEC” envisions outdoor field sports events, concerts and a hotel, along with the restaurants and a site for food trucks.

Thirteen speakers opposed the project, citing concerns about area compatibility, noise from activities upsetting the horses both on site and in the surrounding horse farms, and the non-equine nature of the sports activities.

Horse Farms Forever Director of Conservation Busy Shires spoke to the organization’s concerns. She focused on the threat to the Farmland Preservation Area, noting that the original WEC PUD took nearly 1,000 acres out of the FPA in 2017, the incompatible development of the parcel close to horse farms and agricultural uses, the breach of the county’s prior agreement about low-residential usage for equestrian estates in that parcel and the wrong location for the concept.

The HFF position paper stated, “The issue with the proposed applications by Golden Ocala is not what is proposed, but rather where it is proposed. It’s in the wrong place. These activities belong on land designated and zoned for commercial uses, not residential uses.”

The area for the project is at the southwest corner of the WEC development, with West State Road 40 to the south, Northwest 110^th Avenue to the west and Northwest 87^th Court Road as the east boundary. The parcel is west of the WEC chapel and is comprised of grass and pastureland along with some woods. Some of the area has already been cleared in a “pre-grading” process, said Tillman.

Shires pointed out that the parcel was intended for housing, not a sports complex. She commented via email after the meeting and wrote: “The County Commission approved the changes because the World Equestrian Estates would serve as a stepdown buffer for the new Farmland Preservation Area boundary. These applications seek to undo those promises and agreements made by Golden Ocala to the adjacent landowners and the community.”

Shires also wrote, “Horse Farms Forever is disappointed in the recommendation for approval by the Planning and Zoning Commission and by the county’s planning staff because converting low density residential equestrian lots to intense commercial development is incompatible with the surrounding horse farms and rural neighborhoods. It’s also a threat to our global brand as the Horse Capital of the World and the $4.3 billion equine industry.”

Horse trainer and rider Jenny Susser expressed worries about the pesticide and fertilizer usage to maintain the sports fields and its effect on the soil and water table in the area. She also noted that the noise from sports activities and concerts would have a detrimental effect on horses showing at WEC and the farms in the surrounding area.

Greg Wheeler, who lives northwest of the parcel, said, “The [developer] presentation scared the hell out of me.” He said the bright lights and PA systems needed for sports complexes would destroy the natural beauty of the area. Even with the current WEC setup, he said, “I don’t see stars anymore.”

Another speaker cited the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney World in Orlando and said it was operating far below capacity. “If Disney can’t keep theirs filled, how is WEC going to keep theirs filled?” she asked.

One speaker said WEC already has sinkholes from water usage and thought the additional need to maintain and water all the sports fields would generate more of them.

Marion County has three sports complexes: the Ocala Regional Sportsplex, at 3500 SW 67th Ave. just east of West Port High School, which holds five softball fields, two lighted basketball courts, four lighted sand volleyball pits, picnic areas and walking trails; the Rotary Sportsplex of Marion County, at 5220 SE Maricamp Road, has 11 baseball/softball fields, five soccer fields, a batting cage, a playground and a concession area; the Belleview Sports Complex, at 6501 SE 107^th St., hosts more than a dozen baseball/softball fields, tennis courts and basketball courts, along with a playground and concession area.

 

RAC expansion for landscape yard denied

The P&Z commission voted 4-0 to deny a change in land use and zoning from general agriculture and rural land use to the rural activity center that would expand the current RAC at the intersection of State Road 326 and Northwest 70^th Avenue.

Three speakers spoke in opposition to the project.

The intersection has been the site for long-time business Gilbert’s Hardware and also houses a Philips food/convenience store and two-pump gas station, an unused farm stand, a horse farm and an empty pasture. The parcel at 6853 W SR 326 is just over 23 acres and the request involved about 18 acres to be designated RAC for use as a landscape contract yard, farm building sales and service, and plant nursery.

County staff recommended denial in its report and presentation stating, “…the existing RAC area is underdeveloped and expanding it to include the subject property promotes inefficient sprawl instead of concentrating development in appropriate locations. Also, the property lies within the Farmland Preservation Area and its conversion to RAC undermines the county’s goal of maintaining agricultural activities and rural character. The proposed uses do not address existing or projected population or service needs and can be accommodated within the current RAC area.”

HFF opposed the application, citing in its position statement concerns about the potential for other detrimental uses to the parcel if approved: “However, this proposed use is non-binding as once the future land use and zoning are changed, the rural activity center designation would allow the current owner, or any future owner, to conduct over 35 different types of commercial activity on the parcel, many of them very intense uses… [such as] a 350,000-square-foot-commercial building on the parcel. Examples of allowed uses would include a cold storage plant, or a fuel oil storage facility or a complex of storage warehouses. They would even allow a convenience store and/or gas station.”

 

Sunkissed Village RV Resort expansion approved         

In a 4-0 vote, the commission approved an expansion of the Sunkissed Village RV Resort for an additional 20 acres to the west of the current resort at 14330 U.S. 441 in Summerfield. The acreage is currently empty. The zoning change is from general agriculture to recreational vehicle park.

The staff report stated, “[The parcel] is in proximity to a rapidly urbanizing area within the southern portion of Marion County near Spruce Creek Country Club, The Villages, Orange Blossom Hills and the commercial corridors that serve these communities… Many nearby uses of the subject parcels are intended for expansion areas of light and medium zoning intensities by zoning designation and land use.”