SARASOTA — New College of Florida’s goal of constructing a baseball field for its new athletics program is a little bit closer to reality after local developer Carlos Beruff donated $1 million to the project.
In a recent press release, the New College of Florida announced the gift will be recognized with an honorary naming of the facility as the “Beruff Family Field of Dreams.”
Beruff is the founder of Medallion Home, a residential home and community builder, established in 1984. Medallion Home is one of the region's more prominent residential developers with developments across Sarasota and Manatee Counties, including in the rapidly growing area of Parrish, Florida.
The local developer also has a long history of political ties—both locally and at the state level.
Over many of the past election cycles, campaign finance reports for Republican candidates running for local offices in both Manatee and Sarasota have shown Beruff (or his companies) to have been a financial supporter of their campaigns.
But Beruff hasn’t only supported others' bids for election, himself a candidate for the US Senate in 2016, Beruff reportedly self-funded his run against Senator Marco Rubio to the tune of multi-millions of dollars.
Besides his bid for the U.S. Senate, at the state level, Beruff has received several gubernatorial appointments going back almost two decades.
Former Florida governor Charlie Crist appointed Beruff to the Sarasota-Bradenton Airport Authority, the Southwest Florida Water Management Board and the State College of Florida Board.
Florida's next governor, Rick Scott, reappointed Beruff to all three positions as well as selecting him to serve as chair of the Florida Constitution Revision Commission and Scott‘s Healthcare and Hospital Funding Commission and appointing him to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Currently, Beruff still serves on the Sarasota-Bradenton Airport Authority but current Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis—who ran against Beruff as another candidate vying for Rubio’s US Senate seat in 2016—revoked Beruff’s appointment to the FWC Board in 2019.
Fast forward to 2023, and Gov. DeSantis announced his selection of Beruff for gubernatorial appointment to the Citizens Property Insurance Board—a position Beruff holds in tandem with his spot on the Airport Authority.
In its recent press release, New College President Richard Corcoran was quoted as saying, “Carlos Beruff has long been a champion for the people of Sarasota and Manatee counties, and his belief in the transformative power of education and athletics aligns perfectly with the mission of New College.”
Corcoran continued, “This field will be more than just a home for our baseball team; it will be a legacy space where the values of determination, intellectual curiosity, and academic excellence intersect with athletic achievement. We are proud to honor his contributions through the Beruff Family Field of Dreams.”
New College launched its intercollegiate athletics program in 2023, following a controversial shake-up at the institution. Students and faculty decried the move as a “hostile takeover,” accusing the governor of playing politics with the liberal arts college as part of his declared “wore on woke.”
Beginning in Jan. 2023, Gov. DeSantis appointed six new members—Republican allies and insiders—to the institution’s 13-member Board of Trustees. Closely following, the new trustees began their effort to follow the governor’s vision of reshaping the college into a more “conservative” institution and promptly ousted then-president Patricia Okker and replaced her with Corcoran with a $400,000 pay hike compared to that of his predecessor.
The overhaul of the institution has enjoyed substantial financial support from the state legislature and DeSantis who have awarded New College tens of millions in funding.
Speaking through the press release, Beruff shared, “My family is forever grateful for the opportunities that literally Make America Great for anyone who works hard and believes in the American dream.”
He added, “We believe having a world-class liberal arts institution in our own backyard elevates the quality of life for everyone while providing opportunities for our leaders of tomorrow. We appreciate the dedication and vision of Governor DeSantis, the New College Trustees, and President Corcoran in making New College a source of pride for our local citizenry. This is not the first time I have given to New College, nor will it be my last. Many of our business and political leaders would not have had the opportunity to get a college education without athletic scholarships, so we believe that expanding New College to offer those [athletic scholarships] will help solidify its future. This field represents new possibilities and a commitment to the American Dream—not only for the student-athletes that will play on it but also for everyone who gets to experience it.”
The "Beruff Family Field of Dreams" baseball complex will be erected at the former site of the Sarasota Classic Car Museum which had leased the property for decades from New College before the institution's new leadership terminated the lease. At the time, officials said it was done to make room for the addition of athletics programs and projected growth.
According to the press release, the prominent corner of U.S. 41 and University Parkway will be "one of the most visible athletic landmarks in the area".
"It will serve as a welcome to travelers arriving at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport while inspiring tens of thousands of passersby daily," the release noted.
New College says that architectural designs for the ballpark are currently in progress and a construction timeline will be announced in 2025.
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johnschussler
The 2024 NCF Master Plan shows a proposed baseball field using all of the land that NC owns at the NE corner of US41 and University Parkway. All of the remaining NC East Campus, 34 acres, is owned by the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority (SMAA). The SMAA tried to sell those 34 acres to NC earlier this year, but the Federal Aviation Administration stopped the sale as not in the best interest of the airport. Now Carlos Beruff, the longest serving SMAA board member, gives NC $1M to construct a ball field with his name on it. The only access to that ball field is across airport land via General Spaatz Blvd. The ball stadium is too close to the US41/University Parkway intersection to allow any new access to be created on NC owned land, so this new ball stadium will rely upon using SMAA land. If the SMAA ever wants to use its own land for airport purposes, this Beruff baseball field would be an obstacle. Building codes don't allow new construction that does not have its own street access and parking areas, but NC is exempt from local building codes. NC and SMAA boards and administrators continue the political overreach desired by those who appointed them.
Sunday, December 15, 2024 Report this
johnschussler
Mike Whitaker, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), announced December 12, 2024 that he will resign on Inauguration Day next year. Whitaker, the FAA Administrator since October 2023, will be leaving his position—a five-year appointment with term that expires October 27, 2028. Whitaker has several years remaining on his term. Federal law creates a default term in office of 5 years. The point is to insulate the FAA Administrator from partisan politics by establishing a norm in which its leadership ideally overlaps multiple presidential administrations. The FAA Administrator reports to the Department of Transportation, an appointed position. The FAA is supposed to be non-partisan. President-elect Trump may now fill both vacancies.
My fear is that the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority (SMAA) Board of Directors and the New College Board of Trustees, all Republicans, will ask Florida Republican congressmen and others to pressure a newly appointed FAA Administrator to reverse the FAA's 2024 rejection of the sale of Sarasota Bradenton Airport land to New College. The general reason the FAA gave for rejecting the sale of airport land was that it was not in the best long term interest of the airport. About six of the specific reasons the FAA rejected the sale were unique to the Sarasota Bradenton Airport. The seventh reason, future electric vertical takeoff aircraft, could apply to any commercial service airport. The FAA's reasons for rejecting the sale of airport land were all practical, none political. What could be the basis for pressuring a new FAA Administrator to reverse the FAA’s 2024 decision? No good reasons.
Why can’t we just “wait and see what happens?” Because any political activity will be secret; the public won’t know if it is happening. Now is the time for a local reporter to ask the SMAA President if they intend to seek a reversal of the FAA's 2024 rejection of the sale of Sarasota Bradenton Airport land to New College. If he says “NO” I will drop this concern.
The new FAA Administrator could just send the SMAA a simple letter saying it no longer objects to the sale of airport land. Unlike with a rejection, they don’t need to explain why. The SMAA and New College could then announce they are proceeding with the sale that both organizations have already fully approved. Done deal. Too late for anyone to object. If no reporter asks the SMAA President about this, and the new FAA Administrator reverses the FAA decision, I will remind all of you about this email.
My objection to one party rule of state and national government is the inevitable political overreach that occurs. Like the antics above. We need election reforms like open primary elections and instant runoff elections.
Sunday, December 15, 2024 Report this
klmsinc
Let the show begin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday, December 15, 2024 Report this
Charles
klmsinc —
The show is already on… well into the second inning of the “con tro (re)verse-y” for Floridians. Our internationally renowned honors college has been dismantled and turned into a X-ian jock mill (hint: X-mas) and a political vehicle for some of our most disreputable predators. The PR (political release) ludicrous characterization as a “champion for the people of Sarasota and Manatee counties” is about as accurate for Carlos Berfuff as it is for Richard Corcoran.
An apparent plan to provide two billiard boards for Beruff (hint: college name missing) seems to exist as two large clues in the illustration and a (no master) plan lacking public parking for the “stadium” and regulations prohibiting public access from state roads
Watch out for the nausea induced by the coming political releases and be prepared for “fly balls” onto two very busy streets and their intersection.
Sunday, December 15, 2024 Report this
Charles
billboards — of course
Sunday, December 15, 2024 Report this
shannikafarnsworth
Champion? Carlos Beruff? Grifter. Prefer he be named to a mud wrestling pit. Where Corcoran slings mud daily.
Monday, December 16, 2024 Report this
andreart
No matter who you are, if someone gives a million dollars, naming rights are always considered. No matter the politics, a school has a ballfield.
Monday, December 16, 2024 Report this
GLEN GADFLY GIBELLINA
You can say one thing about corruption…it pays off in the inner circles who make it happen.
What a message to the public and our students.
Sunday, December 22, 2024 Report this