Baseball star Ryan Howard sells his opulent Florida mansion for $16.5 million
Ryan Howard retired from baseball last year, but he’s starting the new year with a massive payday. The longtime Phillies star has sold his sprawling Mediterranean mansion in Florida’s Belleair Shores for $16.5 million.
Spanning nearly 20,000 square feet on over two acres, the waterfront home ruffled feathers in the community when it was being built in 2013, drawing ire from residents over the noise and construction timeline.
Past gates, a brick-paver driveway approaches the porte-cochere entry with dual staircases. Expansive living spaces fill the three-story floor plan, including a column-lined living room overlooking the ocean.
The mansion holds eight bedrooms and nine bathrooms, including a master suite with a rotunda ceiling and private terrace.
Barrel ceilings and paneled walls touch up the formal dining room. Other highlights include a movie theater, memorabilia room, gym, sauna, wood-paneled office and stone-lined wine cellar. The billiards room offers a wet bar, and the sports room boasts a two-lane bowling alley.
Terraces and balconies line the home’s upper levels, providing a series of covered and uncovered spaces with fireplaces and views of the Gulf of Mexico.
A lazy river snakes its way under the home and across the property, and bridges climb over the canal to a batch of indoor-outdoor lounges.
Outside, palm trees top a custom swimming pool and spa. Past a fence lies 200 feet of beach frontage.
Jackie Diaz and Karen Hegemeier of Premier Sotheby’s International Realty held the listing. Rafal Wazio of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage represented the buyer.
Howard, 39, spent his entire career with the Phillies, winning the National League MVP award in 2006 and leading the club to its second World Series title two years later. The three-time All-Star was the fastest player to reach 100 and 200 home runs in major league history, and he finished his career with 382.
jack.flemming@latimes.com | Twitter: @jflem94
