Innisbrook Golf Resort in Palm Harbor, Florida – site of the PGA Tour’s annual Valspar Championship on the property’s Copperhead Course – is being sold.
Home to four golf courses with 63 holes in all, the resort near Tampa will be acquired by Salamander Collection to Concert Golf Partners for a reported $19.8 million, as reported first by multiple sources including the Tampa Bay Business Journal. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.
Golfweek reached out to Concert Golf Partners and was sent the following joint media release on behalf of itself and Salamander:
"Concert Golf Partners and Salamander Collection have entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement under which Innisbrook Resort would join the Concert Golf Partners portfolio.
The transaction is expected to close in the coming months, subject to customary closing conditions. Innisbrook is expected to continue operating during the transition, and no immediate operational changes are planned at this time. Concert Golf Partners, which maintains a portfolio of private golf and country clubs nationwide, currently intends to retain Innisbrook’s team and build on the foundation established by Sheila Johnson and Salamander Collection. Salamander Collection will remain involved in a consulting capacity following closing. Additional information will be shared as appropriate."
Innisbrook was established in 1960 and sits on 600 rolling acres. In addition to the four golf courses, it features 300-plus guest rooms, multiple restaurants and bars, a spa and some 65,000 square feet of meeting space. The property also has more than 1,000 private homes.
The Valspar Championship has been played on the Copperhead Course since 2000, when it was founded as the Tampa Bay Classic. The Valspar replaced the JCPenney Classic, a mixed-team professional event held at Innisbrook since 1990. The Copperhead is ranked by Golfweek's Best as among the top 10 public-access courses in Florida.
Concert Golf Partners – based in Lake Mary, Florida, near Orlando – describes itself as a “boutique club hospitality company” and has expanded into seven states with the ownership and operation of more than 40 private clubs. The company already operates Carrollwood Country Club in Tampa, and the acquisition of Innisbrook takes the company’s holdings in Florida to 10 properties stretching from the greater Jacksonville area to Naples.
The Virginia-based Salamander Collection acquired Innisbrook in 2007. Salamander owns PGA National Resort in South Florida as well as a handful of other luxury destinations stretching from Colorado to Jamaica. Salamander was founded by businesswoman Shiela Johnson, who also co-founded Black Entertainment Television. Salamander will retain 34 acres at Innisbrook as part of the deal.
Jason Lusk is Golfweek's travel and golf course architecture editor, as well as the print magazine's creative director. He has written for and designed Golfweek for more than two decades.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Florida resort that hosts PGA Tour sold for nearly $20 million
