Republic Land Development of Fairfax, Va., has wanted to redevelop the fairground property, at U.S. 301 and Interstate 4, since at least the fall of 2009. It proposed building hotels with as many as 2,600 rooms, shops and restaurants, a sports complex with soccer fields and tennis courts and even a monorail to shuttle people around.

It promised to leave enough space for the annual Florida State Fair on the fairground's roughly 355 acres. The Florida State Fair Authority, which oversees the fairground, considered the idea for much of 2010.

But the project went nowhere.

Most members of the fair authority supported it, but the project couldn't overcome some legal hurdles and the reservations of former Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson. The project went dormant in 2011 and this year.

On Monday, Republic Land Development resurfaced at a meeting of the fair authority's long-range planning committee.

The developer still would like to develop the fairground in a public-private partnership with the fair authority, said David Mechanik, a Tampa lawyer representing Republic Land. As it did two years ago, the company proposes adding a mix of hotels, a sports and entertainment complex, parking garages, retail and restaurants and a pedestrian mall.

One thing missing from its plans, though, is a Major League Baseball stadium. Republic Land's original rendering from 2009 shows a proposed Major League Baseball stadium at the fairground, thrusting it into the debate over a new Tampa Bay Rays stadium.

The company has removed the ballpark from its drawings and no longer is contemplating a professional baseball stadium, Mechanik said. Republic Land has acknowledged it wants to capitalize on the success of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, across I-4, and it has talked with the Seminole Tribe in the past about dedicating some of its hotel space to casino visitors.

The fair authority's long-range planning committee didn't immediately act on Republic Land's proposal. However, it directed fair Executive Director Chuck Pesano to research what other major fairs across the country have public-private partnerships with land developers.