Things To Do In SW Florida

Ocoee city leaders enthusiastically backed a $1 billion, state-of-the-art youth sports complex Tuesday night that hopes to draw young athletes from across the country beginning in 2027.

The ambitious project — referred to as the Ocoee Regional Sports Complex, or as The Dynasty by its developer, Montierre Development— will cover about 150 acres and consist of 17 sports fields, a 150,000-square-foot indoor sports facility, a retail district with shops and restaurants, an entertainment district with hotels and other amenities and a new city park.

“I think that we have an excellent opportunity here,” Commissioner George Oliver III said at the meeting. “This is an opportunity for us to be able to to elevate above other cities around us and say, ‘Hey, we have something that everyone wants to come and participate in.’”

The commission — which gave the proposal preliminary approval two weeks ago — voted unanimously for the rezoning and land use approvals needed to move the complex forward. read more

LEVEL99, an interactive gaming venue, is moving into Disney Springs.  It will slide into the former NBA Experience space in the West Side section of the Walt Disney World entertainment complex, all parties confirmed Wednesday.

LEVEL99 has more than 50 physical and mental challenges set in artistic environments alongside dining options and craft beverages.  The Disney Springs location follows the original venues in Natick, Massachusetts, and Providence, Rhode Island.

“We are defining the category and setting the standard for out-of-home, interactive entertainment,” LEVEL99 CEO and founder Matthew DuPlessie, said in a news release.

“Our vision is to make ‘challenge rooms’ a mainstream concept, and the opportunity to open at a marquee location like Disney Springs is the next step in our plans to expand the LEVEL99 brand nationally,” he said.

Last call: It’s curtains for Disney’s ‘It’s Tough to Be a Bug’

DuPlessie launched the first escape room-style concept in the world in 2004, the news release said. In 2021, he opened the first LEVEL99 location in hopes of broadening the appeal and increasing repeatability. Participants typically spend two or three hours of entertainment play, the company says, followed by food and beverages there. read more

Gov. Ron DeSantis isn’t worried that political tensions between Canada and the United States will hurt tourism in Florida.

“I am seeing a lot of Canadian license plates,” he said Wednesday, shrugging off reports that some Canadians are rethinking U.S. travel plans in response to President Donald Trump’s tariff threats.

Canada is Florida’s top source of international tourists with 3.3 million making the trip in 2024, representing about 2% of Florida’s total visitors.

Earlier this month, Trump delayed imposing a 25% tariff on Canadian goods for 30 days, but relations between the countries are frayed.

Canadian hockey fans have booed the U.S. national anthem at sporting events, and a social media movement is urging Canadians to shun American products and avoid traveling there. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau encouraged Canadians to consider vacationing domestically and keep their tourism dollars at home.

‘I’ll miss visiting my American friends’: Angered by Trump’s threats, Canadians rethink Florida travel read more

By Kate Wood, NerdWallet

Hoping to buy a home in 2025?

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials at a meeting last month pointed to rising risks that inflation could worsen, a key reason they kept their benchmark interest rate unchanged.