Winter Springs pickleball court could open in March

An increasingly familiar sound is about to start echoing from Central Winds Park. Winter Springs is prepping to open its 14-court pickleball complex in the coming weeks. 

Winter Springs commissioners agreed to a framework Monday night on how many courts would be open to walk-up play, versus how many would be reserved for the city’s professional pickleball vendor. The complex will be located at Central Winds Park.

“The big question everyone has is, ‘When are we gonna open it up?’” said Winter Springs Parks and Recreation Director Len Hartman. “My suspicions are we’ll get it opened up in March.”

Pickleball has consistently been the fastest growing sport in the U.S. over the last five years; NPR describes it as a cross between tennis, badminton and pingpong. 

Currently, the city is in the process of finalizing a contract with Glen White for pro services for half of the courts. That means seven of the 14 courts would be used for pickleball leagues, for group and individual classes, clinics and, eventually, tournaments. For the remaining seven courts, four would always be available on a walk-up, first-come, first-served basis. The other three would be available for reservations online at $5 per hour for city residents, and $8 per hour for non-city residents. 

Residents would also be able to reserve the courts eight days ahead of time – one day sooner than non-residents.

“On the front wall, our intention is to have a monitor that shows who has reserved the courts and the time,” Hartman said. 

Commissioner Cade Resnick said he wanted there to be a fee for using the walk-up courts as well, and not just for reservations, so that people would have “skin in the game” to keep the courts clean. 

“This is a nominal fee,” Resnick said. “You’re against it, I’m for it.”

Winter Springs Deputy Mayor Rob Elliott volleyed back, saying residents have already paid for the court with their tax dollars. Ultimately, Winter Springs paid $3.1 million for the complex: $2.3 million that was originally budgeted, plus three subsequent budget increases to increase the number of courts and add lighting so it would be capable of hosting tournaments.

“I am vehemently against charging our residents or anyone, whether they live in Winter Springs or not, to come and have to pay to play on these courts,” Elliott said. “That wasn’t the idea.” 

The courts aren’t without controversy. The pickleball courts were a common item mentioned by residents when the city raised stormwater fees, and are a frequent punching bag online. 

McCann said residents and commissioners should be patient while the city opens the courts. 

“I think there’s going to be a learning curve,” McCann said. “We are in fact ahead of the curve on this project, but we’re all gonna have to have a little patience.”

The courts are expected to be open from 7:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Once opened, the city would get 15% of the revenue from the pro services which, in previous documents White estimated to range from about $23,000 annually to about $83,000.

City staff is finalizing the actual opening day, and is preparing for an event that would include food trucks. Staff members said they are also in the process of writing up proposals in case someone wants to pay for naming rights for the pickleball complex. 

Elliott said that since he’s been on the commission, the city has seen a mayor resign, a city manager and deputy city manager design, and gone through multiple audits, but that’s not top of mind for residents. 

“I will tell you I have gotten more calls about pickleball than all of those combined,” Elliott said.