Lakewood Ranch's New Entertainment District Is Opening One Building at a Time

The entertainment district on the Sarasota County side of Lakewood Ranch is open this week, but only partly. Two of its four big buildings are open. A third is expected in January. The fourth, a three-story indoor go-kart center, broke ground in March and is planned for 2027. The order matters because each business was planned to serve a different group. Until the last one opens, some of those groups have their spot on the block and others are still waiting.

A Block Planned Years Before the First Door Opened

Amanda Zipperer, director of property management and leasing for Lakewood Ranch Commercial, told Your Observer in March that the district was envisioned years ago as part of Lakewood Ranch's long-term development strategy. She said the businesses would appeal to families, young professionals and active adults, so the district would serve the whole community and draw visitors too.

Here is the block as of this Thursday.

Three of the four sit side by side on Professional Parkway. SkyTrack is to the north of Urban Air and Backyard Social is to the south. Life Time is across Lakewood Ranch Boulevard, next to Gold Coast Eagle Distributing, south of University Parkway.

Urban Air Drew the First Line at Age 7

Michael Tucci and his wife, Tracey Tucci, opened Urban Air on Professional Parkway in September 2025. It is the third Urban Air they have opened in the Tampa Bay area, after Brandon and Tampa. At 60,000 square feet, Your Observer reported it is the largest park they own and the largest of the roughly 400 Urban Air locations in the country.

Inside are trampolines, a climbing area, laser tag, battle beams, a ninja course and mini-carts. The mini-carts show how the block was planned. They are built for children 7 and under, and Tucci told the Observer he left full-size go-karts to SkyTrack. He has become friendly with the owners of SkyTrack and Backyard Social, and when asked about construction on both sides of his building he said, "The more the merrier."

"We should all partner together," he said. "It's going to be fantastic."

For about a year, Urban Air was the whole district, and it served younger children. The next opening served adults.

Life Time Opened for Adults' Daytime Hours

Life Time opened at 5000 Lakewood Ranch Blvd. on Oct. 12. According to Your Observer's opening-day story, nearly 3,000 members had signed up before the doors opened. The company describes the site as more than 180,000 square feet. That includes an 86,000-square-foot clubhouse, a beach club of nearly 50,000 square feet and a pickleball area of about the same size.

The beach club has a leisure pool with two slides and a mushroom fountain, plus a lap pool, cabanas and poolside service. The club has 14 pickleball courts. Three are indoors on the fitness floor, and five of the 11 outdoor courts are covered. Other amenities include LifeSpa and a salon, sauna, steam room, cold plunge, LifeClinic chiropractic care, LifeCafe and a bar. There is also Kids Academy for children from 3 months to 11 years old and a free coworking space called the Life Time Work Club Lounge.

General manager Steve Datte told the Observer that people who have never been to a Life Time "get excited about what they're going to do with their days now." The coworking lounge, the spa, the cafe and Kids Academy all support that idea of spending a whole day there. A parent can drop off a toddler, work for a few hours, play pickleball and get lunch in the same building.

The Bradenton Herald reported in October that adult memberships start at $339 a month and junior memberships at $100. Life Time's membership page also showed the $339 starting rate, and the club's Lakewood Ranch location page describes memberships as month-to-month.

Staffing shows the club is planning for summer. The Observer reported more than 200 employees at opening. Datte expects close to 300 next summer, when the pool is fully busy. Natalie Bushaw, a Life Time vice president, told the Observer in March that the company picked Lakewood Ranch for its "strong emphasis on quality of life, outdoor activity and family living." Our Lakewood Ranch active lifestyle page covers the rest of the area's options.

The Evening Venue Moved to January

Kids and the fitness crowd now have their places on the block. The evening social venue was supposed to come next. In March, Backyard Social owner Mat Baum and his partner John Mann were aiming for a mid-November opening, even though the foundation had not been poured yet. A Nov. 2 Sarasota Herald-Tribune story published by the Bradenton Herald now gives January 2027 as the expected opening for the 12,000-square-foot indoor-outdoor venue at 6400 Professional Parkway, near Interstate 75.

The Baum family also owns Agave Bandido at Waterside Place, so this group already has a restaurant in Lakewood Ranch. Backyard Social will be its second location, after the original in Fort Myers. It has no traditional kitchen. Food comes from five independently run food-truck concepts, and the family operates two of them: Big Drip Coffee, which makes its own syrups and flavors, and South Cypress Brewing Co., which serves small-batch beers from brewmaster Mike Rose. The plans also include two full-service bars, live music, a large outdoor TV for games, duckpin bowling, darts, lawn games and a private event space.

"The Sarasota coffee scene is just blowing up," marketing director Alexandra Maxham told the Herald-Tribune. "I think Big Drip will be a huge addition to that." The company plans recurring markets, charity events, happy hours, Latin nights and dog-friendly events like the ones it hosts in Fort Myers.

With its bars, stage and happy hours, Backyard Social is the district's planned evening venue, so the January date also sets when the block gets its first nightlife. Until then, our Lakewood Ranch nightlife guide covers evening options elsewhere in the community.

SkyTrack Has the Longest List of Features and Is the Last to Open

SkyTrack broke ground March 10, directly north of Urban Air. Its co-owner, Dr. Wael Alokeh, is a physician who lives in Lake Club. He came up with the idea after watching his children spend hours in a small arcade at an Orlando hotel. The plans call for a 70,000-square-foot building with a go-kart track that winds across three stories and runs more than half a mile. The electric karts reach 27 miles per hour. The building will also have a 16-lane bowling alley, more than 85 arcade and virtual reality games, an indoor mini-golf course, a full-service restaurant serving dishes like steaks and carpaccio, two bars, an outdoor stage and a second floor for corporate events.

Jennifer Alokeh, his wife and partner in the project, explained the gap they are trying to fill. "Before Urban Air, (the area) was limited in terms of what was offered for entertainment," she told the Observer. "Lakewood Ranch has rapidly grown and has become one of the best places to live, but there's no bowling alley or go-karts, so the idea evolved from there." The couple also wanted indoor, air-conditioned entertainment for the hottest summer months.

The owners said in March that the track is being shipped from Europe and takes only 30 days to install, but the full project takes about 14 months. They projected a May 1, 2027 opening, and the Observer reported that the district was expected to be fully built out by early summer 2027. On that schedule, the business aimed at older kids, teens and adults who want to race would open last, and the district's go-karts and bowling would arrive in time for summer.

What the Block Offers This Holiday Season

This season, the district is mostly a daytime place. Here is what you can use there through the end of the year:

• Urban Air for younger kids on a hot afternoon or a rainy weekend, with trampolines, the ninja course, laser tag and the mini-carts.
• Life Time's events calendar, which lists cardio sessions, Alpha classes, yoga and sound-bath workshops and skincare events on dates running from Nov. 12 through Dec. 20. Some are listed as paid.
• Agave Bandido at Waterside Place, where you can try the Baum family's cooking before Backyard Social opens.

The community's big holiday events are on Lakewood Ranch Main Street, which hosts the Holiday of the Arts Festival on Dec. 5 and 6 and Christmas on Main on Dec. 19 and 20. Our events and festivals page has the full calendar. Next holiday season, if SkyTrack and Backyard Social open on their projected schedules, the Professional Parkway block will have evening and family options of its own.

Wondering which side of Lakewood Ranch puts you closest to the pickleball courts, the go-kart track or a Saturday at Waterside Place? The Argelia Vidal team follows these openings as they happen and is glad to show you how each part of the community fits the way you like to spend your days. Let's Connect.