The Fort Myers Boat Show Returns to a Riverfront Still Short on Places to Keep a Boat

"Represents a significant reinvestment in Fort Myers' waterfront and a long-term commitment to the local boating community." Rick Budd, CEO of AIRN Management, said that about Legacy Harbour Marina when it reopened in September, according to Marina World.

Three weeks from today, boats for sale will line that same riverfront. The 54th annual Fort Myers Boat Show runs Thursday, Nov. 12, through Sunday, Nov. 15, in the Downtown River District. About 40 local dealers representing 100 manufacturers will be selling bay boats, center consoles, pontoons and yachts. The supply problem in Southwest Florida right now is somewhere else. In its October 12 reporting on Legacy Harbour, the News-Press described a market "where finding somewhere to keep a vessel has increasingly become as challenging as buying one."

So this year's show is two things. It's the usual four-day browse, and it's a live look at downtown's half-finished waterfront recovery. One marina is back. The city's own yacht basin, at last public report in late July, was still waiting on a federal permit. Here's how to do the show well and what's going on with both.

Gate Price, Parking and the Hours That Matter

The show is presented by Go Boating Florida and owned by the Marine Industries Association of Southwest Florida. The basics, from the official show information page:

• Hours: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
• Admission: $20 for adults. Kids 15 and under get in free with a paid adult.
• Tickets: Sold at the entrances only. There are no online tickets, and the organizers say that skips online ticketing fees.
• Entrances: The main gate is at Bay Street and Heitman Street, next to the Post Office. The second gate is at Lee Street and Edwards Drive.
• Pets: Not allowed, for insurance and liability reasons.

Parking is the call that shapes your whole day. The show page advertises free parking at City of Palms Park, 2201 Edison Ave., with shuttles to the show entrances. That option was new in 2025 and is back again this year. If you'd rather park closer and pay, the Edison Parking Garage is at Monroe and Bay and the Main Street Parking Garage is at Jackson and First, with paid grass and asphalt lots scattered around downtown.

The shuttles run continuously from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. all four days and stop at 6 p.m. on Sunday. A separate free shuttle runs between the main and east entrances. That second shuttle matters more than it sounds, because the show stretches a long way.

A Show Laid Out Along the River It Depends On

The exhibits run along the Caloosahatchee, through Centennial Park and the Caloosa Sound Convention Center, then east along Edwards Drive to Lee Street. The 2026 layout map covers Edwards Drive plus Heitman, Hendry, Lee, Monroe, Bay and First streets.

The convention center is where the boat-ownership side of the show lives. The organizers say it's "packed with engines, electronics, boat lifts, fishing equipment, apparel and marine accessories," along with service companies, marinas and shipyards. Legacy Harbour Marina is on the 2026 exhibitor list at booth CS/B-17. In other words, the marina that just reopened on this riverfront will be inside the show, talking to people who are shopping for something to put in a slip.

That's the clearest sign of where the market pressure sits. In June, the Naples Daily News ran a regional report headlined "A Florida region built for boating is running short on space to dock." Downtown Fort Myers is a small version of that story, and both halves of it sit close to the show.

The Half That Came Back: Legacy Harbour

AIRN Management partnered with Bellingham Marine to rebuild Legacy Harbour after Hurricane Ian. The marina says it officially reopened in September 2026 with 131 slips. Coastal Marina Management runs the day-to-day operations, dock staff and customer service. The project cost roughly $15 million on a 13-acre waterfront site, and construction started in early 2025.

The rebuilt docks take boats from 40 to 140 feet. They come with potable water, in-slip pump-out, fire suppression, fiberglass dock boxes, and single- and three-phase power.

The timeline slipped along the way. In March, Boating Industry reported that the marina was planning a May 2026 reopening. It opened about four months later, right around the fourth anniversary of Ian's Sept. 28, 2022 landfall, as the News-Press noted.

The slip sizes also say who this capacity serves. A 40-foot minimum means larger boats. The show's lineup runs from bay boats, inshore skiffs and pontoons up to center consoles and yachts, so plenty of what's on display falls below that size, and those smaller boats are a different storage question.

The Half Still Waiting: The Fort Myers Yacht Basin

The Fort Myers Yacht Basin is city property, and its rebuild depends on a federal permit. Suntex Marina holds the lease. Its plans call for up to 280 slips, a boat club, a marine store, fuel facilities and about 40,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space on a filled portion of the basin, according to Gulfshore Business. The lease runs 30 years with two optional renewals and requires at least $30 million in improvements.

At its April 6 meeting, Fort Myers City Council voted 6-1 to extend the ground lease for another year, with Councilor Liston Bochette dissenting. In a separate 4-3 vote, council moved to require Suntex to pay the city $250,000 a year until the project is done. Councilor Fred Burson said that figure reflects what the city used to earn from the basin each year. Mayor Kevin Anderson said the vote didn't require the payment right away and that the contract would need to be renegotiated.

At that same meeting, Suntex's vice president of development, Eric Metz, told council that the Florida Department of Environmental Protection had issued its permits and the Army Corps of Engineers had agreed to the setbacks Suntex wanted. "So, right now we're expecting the Army Corps to get back to us on the final permit in the near term," he said, according to Gulfshore Business. The state permit let Suntex start soliciting bids and vetting a general contractor.

By summer the permit still hadn't come. On July 8, the News-Press reported that U.S. Rep. Greg Steube had toured the basin and planned to meet with the Corps and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, while Suntex waited on the permit. In a July 27 release, Steube said the federal application was submitted in May 2024 and that he had asked for a status update and an interagency meeting.

As of that late-July release, the basin was still shuttered and waiting on federal approval. There are 131 rebuilt slips at Legacy Harbour, and up to 280 more are planned for the yacht basin. Most of the downtown slip capacity on the drawing board is still on paper.

Spending Show Day on the Ownership Side

If you're going to the show to shop, or just to dream, the most useful hours may be the ones spent away from the boats. Here's a route that follows the storage question through the show:

1. Start in the convention center lobby. MIASWF's "Know Before You Go" booth has local captains, navigational charts and marine electronics, plus a free boating and navigation guide that works as an on-board reference.
2. Ask the agencies your regulation questions. The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, U.S. Power Squadron and Lee County Marine Task Force all have displays inside the convention center covering safety and regulations.
3. Catch a docking seminar. Capt. Zac Tapp teaches Boating Basics and Docking seminars every day. Capt. Terry Fisher is back to cover inshore and offshore fishing, knot tying and tackle. Last year, Capt. Rich Blasquez taught the boating-basics seminars, so this year's lineup has a new name in that slot.
4. Stop by booth CS/B-17. That's Legacy Harbour Marina's spot on the exhibitor list.
5. Then walk the docks. Once you know what you could keep and where, the boats along the river are easier to shop.

For lunch, the food court in Centennial Park has the Let's BeeFrank food truck and the Wrap Shack, and there's live music every day at the Riverside Pub. After the show, many downtown restaurants offer BOGO drink specials with the boat show coupon. If you parked at City of Palms Park on Sunday, keep in mind that the shuttles stop at 6 p.m., an hour after the show closes.

If the show has you thinking about a home with your own dock or boat lift, my clients ask me the storage question early, and I'd be glad to talk through what's out there with you. Alicia Lee | TimberCreekRealtor keeps a close eye on the Fort Myers waterfront. Let's Connect.