Lakewood Ranch is getting two big recreation venues about ten weeks apart, and their calendars run in opposite directions. Life Time, the private athletic country club on Lakewood Ranch Boulevard, opened in October. Its outdoor Beach Club pools are billed around summer. Manatee County's Athletics & Aquatics Center at Premier Sports Campus North is aiming for late December. It has a heated, geothermal 50-meter pool that individual swimmers can use for free. So for the coldest stretch of the year, the new outdoor lap lanes nearby belong to the county.
A club whose pool deck is planned around summer
Life Time opened at 4 a.m. on Oct. 12, the Observer reported. The complex covers more than 180,000 square feet, and nearly 3,000 members had signed up before opening day. Inside are fitness studios, a spa and salon, a cafe and bar, coworking space, a Kids Academy and a chiropractic clinic. General manager Steve Datte told the Observer that people new to the brand "get excited about what they're going to do with their days now."
The outdoor showpiece is a Beach Club of nearly 50,000 square feet. It has a leisure pool with two slides and a mushroom fountain, a five-lane lap pool, cabanas and poolside dining. On its pools page, Life Time says Beach Club availability is "anticipated Memorial Day through Labor Day." Staffing points the same way. The club employs over 200 people now, and the Observer reported that number will rise to nearly 300 "next summer when the pool is in full swing."
The club's separate hours page lists daily hours for the outdoor leisure pool and lap pool. It also notes that scheduling and availability can change. If winter laps are your main reason to join, ask the front desk what the outdoor pools will offer between now and spring. Adult memberships start at $339 a month on month-to-month terms, according to the club's location page.
The county pool was engineered for the other half of the year
The Premier center sits at 16350 Rangeland Parkway, next to the Lakewood Ranch Library. The 50-meter pool is the centerpiece. It can run eight lanes lengthwise or about 18 across its width. When the Observer toured the site in September, the reporter's note on the competition pool was short: "Yes, it's heated." The Bradenton Herald reported that both pools are geothermal, a system that can heat and cool each one. That is the feature that matters in January. The pools are built with Myrtha technology, which a county aquatic safety captain told the Herald is used by USA Swimming for Olympic Trials.
There's also a smaller therapy pool, set in front of the shaded pickleball courts. Both pools have lifts for swimmers who need help getting in and out of the water.
On cost, the Observer reported that teams will pay to use the pool, while individuals can swim free. Manatee County does not charge its residents to use county pools. The county's facility page still lists the center as under construction and hasn't posted a swim schedule yet.
The Herald gave the facility's general hours as 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday, and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekends.
Pickleball nearly doubles on the public side
The courts change daily life just as much as the pool. Before Premier, the nearby public baseline was two county sites. The C.V. Walton Racquet Center at G.T. Bray Park has 20 courts, and Lakewood Ranch Park has six. Both were already in use by fall 2024. That's when the Observer covered the reopening of the renovated Lakewood Ranch Park courts.
| Venue | Courts | Covered or indoor | Access and price |
|---|---|---|---|
| C.V. Walton Racquet Center, G.T. Bray Park | 20 | 14 covered | Public, county rates |
| Lakewood Ranch Park | 6 | — | Public |
| Premier Athletics & Aquatics Center | 24 | 14 covered | Public, $5 for two hours or $35 a month |
| Life Time Lakewood Ranch | 14 | 3 indoor, 5 covered outdoor | Members, from $339 a month |
Once Premier opens, the public count in the table goes from 26 courts to 50. Shade grows the same way. The two county sites with covered courts will have 28 covered courts between them.
Prices at Premier match G.T. Bray, county director of sports and leisure services Molly White told the Herald. Players will use the CourtReserve app. Some courts will always be held for open play, and how many depends on the time of day. The rest can be reserved. White told the Observer the county will watch the reservation data "to see which times are going to be the most in demand and make sure there's an opportunity for people to drop in." A shaded hitting wall is part of the build. There's also open space behind the courts that could take tennis courts later if funding comes through.
Life Time's 14 courts go to a smaller group of members, and its three indoor courts are the only fully indoor option in the table.
Why the pool is 50 meters at all
Manatee County's original plan called for a 25-meter pool. That changed in 2021, when swimmers, coaches and parents filled the commission chambers to make the case for a competition-size pool. Some came back this past June to say thank you. Panther Ridge parent Maggie Mooney, whose child swims with the Sarasota Tsunami, told commissioners, as quoted by the Observer:
"The Premier Aquatic Center will save families countless hours on the road, reduce transportation costs and give parents and athletes more time at home, at school and in our community."
The Lakewood Ranch Swim Association Lightning and the Sarasota Tsunami already share lanes at the John Marble Aquatics Center, and they'll share them at Premier too. The Parrish Bull Sharks will keep training at the Lincoln Aquatic Center in Palmetto. The Herald reported that water polo and underwater hockey teams have also asked about using the pool. Chet Brown, the county's public safety division chief, told the Observer, "We'll always have plenty of space between the two pools for the public and the swim teams."
What to expect between now and the end of December
As of the Lakewood Ranch Beacon's Oct. 12 report, the county had not announced an opening date and was targeting late December. Most of the build is finished. The Observer reported in September that the pools were full, the courts painted and the walking trail poured. The remaining jobs were furniture, shade sails and turf for the pickleball waiting area.
Here's how the next two months look:
- Life Time is open now. If a membership fits your routine, the indoor pickleball courts and fitness floor are running today. Ask the club directly about its outdoor pool schedule for winter.
- The county will set a date for a grand opening. White has described it as a "fun, community celebration" with open play on the courts. The Lightning, Tsunami and Bull Sharks are planning a swim meet for the occasion.
- Set up CourtReserve before the first busy week. At C.V. Walton, the county opens app and online bookings seven days ahead and phone bookings six days ahead. Premier hasn't posted its own booking window.
- Plan on more than a swim. A walking path loops around a pond behind the courts. The Herald reported food trucks are planned, and the site has more than 240 parking spaces. The community room, with floor-to-ceiling windows over the pools, will be available for party rentals.
Seasonal owners arriving for the winter will find the county pool opening at about the same time they do. If that's your calendar, our guide to the Lakewood Ranch lifestyle for snowbirds and seasonal owners covers more of the year-round rhythm. So does our look at the part of Lakewood Ranch that never took a summer off.
If you're curious which parts of Lakewood Ranch sit closest to Rangeland Parkway or Lakewood Ranch Boulevard, or how new amenities like these tend to come up in local conversations about homes, I'm always glad to talk it through. Jayne Del Medico is here whenever you'd like a calm, local perspective. Let's Connect.
