Led by their common manager, current and former stars have investments in prime Wesley Chapel real estate.
By JAMES THORNER
Published October 12, 2003
WESLEY CHAPEL - Some of the best-placed commercial land in Wesley Chapel has been owned by folks named Mattingly, Martinez and McGriff.
As in Don Mattingly, Tino Martinez and Fred McGriff.
It seems as if baseball players, active and retired, have found something valuable in which to sink a bit of their sports loot: Pasco County real estate.
Ex-New York Yankee first-baseman Mattingly, once among the highest paid players in baseball, has owned dozens of acres on each side of Interstate 75 along State Road 54.
Not far from Mattingly's land, Martinez, first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals, owns 10.5 acres under the name Primera Base Inc. That's Spanish for "First Base Inc."
Martinez was born in Tampa, starred at Tampa Catholic and Jefferson high schools and played for the Yankees. His undeveloped property abuts Oakley Boulevard, a road busy with hotels and apartment buildings.
Head east across I-75 and you'll hit almost 13 acres north of State Road 54 belonging to McGriff. The land sits across the highway from Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar, close to the SR 54 junction with Bruce B. Downs Boulevard.
The Tampa native played this season with the Los Angeles Dodgers after playing for the Devil Rays, Atlanta Braves, San Diego Padres, Chicago Cubs and Toronto Blue Jays. In 2002, his best year financially, he raked in $7.25-million playing for the Cubs.
The common link among the three players is their agent, Jim Krivacs. An ex-jock himself - he starred on the University of Texas Longhorns basketball squad - Krivacs runs ProSport Management Inc. in Clearwater.
Krivacs didn't return several calls from the St. Petersburg Times last week, but he's listed as the agent on all of the Pasco land deals involving Mattingly, McGriff and Martinez.
Delving into Florida real estate after his college days in the late 1970s, Krivacs himself owns more than 100 acres near I-75 and SR 54, according to Pasco property records.
It's common for professional athletes to spread their millions among investments that include stocks, bonds, collectibles and real estate.
"They invested quite a few years back," said Ron Oakley, an orange grower whose acreage in Wesley Chapel rivals Krivacs' and his clients'. "They had the money and wanted to invest in land."
Wesley Chapel has become a regular athletes alley. Aside from the baseball players, tennis stars, including Jennifer Capriati and Martina Hingis, own houses in Saddlebrook Resort, south of SR 54. Tennis great Pete Sampras used to frequent the Waffle House on State Road 54 when he trained at Saddlebrook.
"I make sure I keep my shades on, look down at the paper and just eat my waffle and leave," he told the Times in 1997.
Allison Berke Morano of the Greater Wesley Chapel Chamber of Commerce said it's not unusual to spot Yankees such as Derek Jeter and Roger Clemens eating at the Wesley Chapel Outback Steakhouse during spring training.
But in terms of investment opportunities, SR 54 has recently played second string to State Road 56 farther south in Wesley Chapel. A Sam's Club store, a giant bookstore and a 1.5-million-square-foot regional mall are among the prospects for SR 56.
In comparison, commercial projects near SR 54 and I-75 have tended to be smaller: Outback Steakhouse, a medical clinic, Applebee's and a Best Western motel.
Bigger projects loom, however. Much of the baseball players' land adjoins that of Oakley, who proposes a large shopping complex on more than 100 acres between Oakley Boulevard and I-75. Plans for an auto mall on that property have fizzled.
Records show Mattingly, whose home state is Indiana, has already reaped big profits on his Wesley Chapel real estate.
In August, a company run by Krivacs paid the Mattingly family $1.5-million for 10 acres northeast of Old Pasco Road and SR 54. That's triple what the Mattinglys paid for the land nine years ago.
The Mattinglys appeared to have disposed of another 38 acres at quadruple returns.
A company called Taylor Patrick Land Co., named for Mattingly's son, sold the land to Krivacs for $1.2-million. Taylor Patrick had paid $300,000.
Krivacs once helped Mattingly squeeze a then-record-breaking $4-million a year from Yankees owner George Steinbrenner. Now he seems to be working wonders in the slugger's post-baseball career, too.
- This report includes information from Times files.
