City council not happy with developer’s plans for City of Palms Park

Reporter: Amy Galo
Published: Updated:
Credit: WINK News.

After months of back and forth, The future of City of Palms Park is still up for debate.

In a city council meeting Monday night, the city council made it clear they’re not happy with the developer’s plans.

In January, Pitch Prime LLC was selected as the developer of the project. This led the group that came in second place, the United Soccer League, to file a lawsuit against the city.

Last month, the city manager proposed starting clean by rejecting all the proposals, but the council chose to stick with Pitch Prime.

During Monday night’s meeting, concerns were brought up by council members about the numbers for the plan not adding up and there being too much debt and speculation for the project.

The question on everyone’s mind: Will the council stick with Pitch Prime LLC?

A long-awaited update on the negotiations between the city and Pitch Prime for the City of Palms sports complex ended with a motion not to accept the agreement as it stands.

The plan presented Monday night by the city manager outlined the $15 million worth of work that needs to be done.

Some of that work includes stadium and stadium renovations, pickleball courts, and plans for mixed-use private developments.

Redevelopment in Midtown is important to the city, which is why City Manager Marty Lawing says the city has negotiated and that work on private development will start by January 2026.

However, some council members have doubts about the amount of debt the project will cost..

Pitch Prime insists they are the ones for the job.

A representative from Pitch Prime said the company can guarantee the project will be done in the allotted timeline.

A tentative timeline was brought up during the city manager’s recap of negotiations.

Field construction is expected to begin in late summer and continue until January 2025.

FIFA would need to certify the field, and other stadium improvements would be ongoing.

WINK News has requested the full plan documents.

Stay tuned to WINKNews.com, WINK News App, streaming, and on-air for any new developments on this story.

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