City planning staff on Monday presented a conditional-use permit package intended to bring the Tigertown Sports Complex and adjacent facilities into formal compliance with Lakeland’s land development code, describing a plan that would replace a portion of existing buildings and authorize a new 156-bed dormitory and associated athletic and support facilities.

Staff said the proposal recognizes longstanding recreational, training and public-service uses on the property and would allow the stadium, practice fields, a 156-bed, four-story dormitory (just under 66 feet), a 54-foot stadium structure, a 50-foot covered practice field, a 39-foot fire training tower and accessory support spaces. The package would also adopt architectural elevations, landscaping standards and off-street parking consistent with the city’s RA-4 urban neighborhood context while listing specific height exceptions for the campus.

Planner comments noted the project would demolish the existing dormitory and certain damaged hangar and media buildings; the new dormitory would include a media center, dining hall, classrooms and meeting spaces. Staff said the physical impacts on utilities and traffic are “de minimis” but flagged the need for future site-plan submittals, transportation concurrency review at each site-plan stage and continued coordination on sidewalk gaps and wayfinding with the Florida Department of Transportation and the Tampa Bay Rays/Tigers representatives.

On funding and procurement, staff said the city expects to contribute $1 million toward the project and cited $4 million held from earlier negotiations as part of the funding package; the project team intends to pursue a bond that could combine airport and CIP needs and expected to solicit contractors in late February or early March. Staff reported eight RFQ responses and planned a short-listing process the following week.

Commission members asked whether Parks and Recreation would retain access to dormitory and dining spaces during storm events; staff said Parks and Recreation would continue to have the same access rights under the lease to dormitory and cafeteria spaces as they do today. Staff also discussed options for a small chemical-storage building to store grounds maintenance supplies and said discussions were underway to relocate or reconfigure that storage within existing buildings.

No final vote on the conditional-use package was recorded in the transcript excerpt; staff said design review and additional site-plan submittals would follow negotiation and contractor selection.