Nathan Benderson Park is set to land $10 million in the state budget.
The House and Senate are supporting the project, which emerged from the influential Transportation and Economic Development budget conference.
Sen. Joe Gruters and Rep. James Buchanan, both Sarasota Republicans, sought the funding for the park to build a 100,000-square-foot indoor sports complex for basketball, pickleball, tennis, volleyball and wrestling. It can also hold a museum and event space, according to Gruters’ funding request.
But the Sarasota County-owned building would also be used in emergencies as a “regional evacuation, shelter, recovery facility, staging lineman and food services, mobile hospital setup,” the funding request said.
“Nathan Benderson Park is strategically located central to the North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton Metro Area to provide continuity of the operation of essential school, local government services, and intergovernmental coordination during and after major storm events,” Gruters said in his request.
