Manatee County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 399,710. Manatee County is part of the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its county seat and largest city is Bradenton. The county was created in 1855 and named for the Florida manatee, Florida's official marine mammal. Features of Manatee County include access to the southern part of the Tampa Bay estuary, the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, and the Manatee River.
Bradenton is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698, up from 49,546 at the 2010 census. It is a principal city in the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. Downtown Bradenton is along the Manatee River and includes the Bradenton Riverwalk. Downtown Bradenton is also home to the Bishop Museum of Science and Nature.
Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport is a public use international airport located within three jurisdictions: Sarasota County, the city limits of Sarasota, and Manatee County, all in the U.S. state of Florida. Owned by the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority, it is 3 miles (4.8 km) north of Downtown Sarasota and 6 miles (9.7 km) south of Bradenton.
State College of Florida, Manatee–Sarasota (SCF) is a public college with campuses in the Manatee and Sarasota counties of Florida. Part of the Florida College System, it is designated a "state college" because it offers a greater number of bachelor's degrees than community colleges. SCF is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Founded in 1957 as Manatee Junior College, it was known as Manatee Community College from 1985 to 2009.
Lastings Darnell Milledge is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Chicago White Sox and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Yakult Swallows. He was the youngest player in MLB's National League during his rookie season in 2006.
Manatee High School is the oldest public high school in Bradenton, Florida, operated by the Manatee County School District.
The Sarasota metropolitan area is a metropolitan area located in Southwest Florida. The metropolitan area is defined by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) as the North Port–Bradenton–Sarasota Metropolitan Statistical Area, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) consisting of Manatee County and Sarasota County. The principal cities listed by the OMB for the MSA are North Port, Bradenton, Sarasota, Lakewood Ranch, and Venice. At the 2020 census, the MSA had a population of 833,716. The Census Bureau estimates that its population was 891,411 in 2022.
Don Allen "Donnie" Robinson is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants, California Angels, and Philadelphia Phillies, from 1978 through 1992. Nicknamed "The Caveman", Robinson's career record was 109–106 with a 3.79 ERA.
The Bradenton Marauders are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates. They are located in Bradenton, Florida, and play their home games at LECOM Park, which also serves as the Pirates' spring training facility.
The Out-of-Door Academy is a college preparatory school in Sarasota, Florida. It serves students in pre-kindergarten through grade 12 on two campuses in the Sarasota area, one on Siesta Key and one in Lakewood Ranch, the Upper School Uihlein Campus.
Lakewood Ranch is a planned community and census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Manatee County and northeastern Sarasota County, Florida, United States, consisting of approximately 31,000 acres (13,000 ha). It is part of the North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. According to the 2020 census, the CDP had a population of 34,877.
Friends of Seagate Inc. was founded in the late 1980s by Kafi Benz as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in Sarasota, Florida. The historic preservation group lead local efforts protect historic property in the Sarasota-Bradenton area from commercial development. The group later expanded its scope to include environmental conservation. Its most notable project was the preservation of Seagate, the former home of Cincinnati, Ohio, industrialist Powel Crosley Jr. and his wife, Gwendolyn, and its later owners, Mabel and Freeman Horton. In 2002 the organization tried to secure Rus-in- Ur'be, an undeveloped parcel of land in the center of the Indian Beach Sapphire Shores neighborhood, as a local park; however, as of 2014, real estate developers intend to build condominium units at the site.
State College of Florida Collegiate School (SCFCS) is a public charter school in Florida, United States. Established in 2010, it is part of and operates on State College of Florida's Bradenton and Venice campuses. It was created through a charter with the School District of Manatee County.
The Bradenton Growers were a professional baseball team based in Bradenton, Florida. A charter member of the Florida State League, they played from 1919 to 1926. The ballclub was founded by team president and majority owner Robert M. Beall, Sr., founder of the department store Bealls. The Growers originally played their home games at Ninth Street Park and moved into McKechnie Field, then known as City Park, when it was constructed in 1923.
The Bradenton Juice were a short-lived minor league baseball team based in Bradenton, Florida in 2007. The team's name came from a "Name the Team" contest that included over 100 suggestions for the ball club. The club played in the South Coast League. The Juice's home game were held at Robert C. Wynn Baseball Field, which is located on the campus of Manatee Community College, now State College of Florida, Manatee–Sarasota. However the Juice were no longer permitted to use the field after just four home games into the season.
Reginald Kristen McClain is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners and Philadelphia Phillies.
Braden River High School is a public high school in Bradenton, Florida, United States. It is a part of the School District of Manatee County.
Colton Zimring Gordon is an American professional baseball pitcher in the Houston Astros organization. In college, he pitched for Hillsborough Community College and the University of Central Florida. Despite having undergone Tommy John surgery two months prior, he was drafted by the Astros in the eighth round of the 2021 Major League Baseball draft. He pitched for the Team Israel in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Lakewood Ranch Preparatory Academy is a public charter school in Lakewood Ranch within Manatee County, Florida. The school is managed by Charter Schools USA and opened in August 2022. The campus consists of two schools: a lower school for kindergarten to grade 5 and an upper school for grades 6 to 12.
County Road 610 (CR 610), locally known as University Parkway, is a seven-mile-long (11 km) county route in Sarasota County and Manatee County, Florida. It is a major commuter route from U.S. Highway 41 (US 41) to Interstate 75 (I-75) and it is the primary access road for Sarasota–Bradenton International Airport.
