Marco Island’s racquet club will move forward with the first phase of its pickleball conversion with seven courts instead of the proposed eight, along with an 8-foot fence and sound proofing barriers.City Council members decided June 17 to change the number of courts in Phase 1 to avoid the need for one of the three variances requested for the project.The council voted in October to demolish the existing racquet court building, championship court, and two clay tennis courts at the city’s existing Racquet Center on San Marco Road, replacing them with paved pickleball courts. Four clay tennis courts will remain after the first phase. Phase 2 would replace those courts as well, for a total of 24 pickleball courts, however that phase hasn’t been funded and could change, council members and staff say.

Neighbors remain unhappy about pickleball

Councilmen Rich Blonna and some neighbors of the 1978 racquet center at 1275 San Marco Road are still opposed to converting tennis courts to pickleball courts at the city owned facility. Blonna has previously suggested that a separate pickleball center be built on property the city buys somewhere else on Marco Island.

Tennis versus pickleball “is a totally different experience, sound wise” Blonna said. “It’s the type of sound that is a continuous sound, that’s gotten me concerned.”A neighborhood information meeting was held May 31 with engineers, Marco Community Affairs Director Dan Smith, engineering firm LJA Engineering, Inc. and the city’s Fleet and Facilities department managers.There, neighbors, mostly from nearby Marco Villas condo community, talked about noise and lighting and how it disturbs them. Brent Guillot of LJA Engineering had sound dampening panel samples. Those same panels were discussed at Monday’s City Council meeting.Blonna said he doesn’t see how mitigation will help the sound enough that “those folks in San Marco Villas aren’t going to go crazy.”

Council member Darrin Palumbo called pickleball “a little bit more machine-gun like” than the sounds of tennis.

“This is a great time to find out how these panels work,” Smith said of the Phase 1 courts.

Neighbors at Marco Villas say they still don’t want pickleball next to them.

“The main issue for us is the noise level,” said David Cadwell, who lives at Marco Villas. “It affects us. It affects the people that live there. It affects how they go about their day.”

Variances approved

Variances were requested for Phase 1 to allow existing buffers for landscaping and for parking, instead of those required under current city rules. The parking variance was made unnecessary when the council decided to cut the number of courts to seven.

The two other variances – to allow 10-feet buffers instead of today’s required 15 feet – were approved. Blonna voted against the variances.

Why is pickleball replacing tennis?

Marco Island staff conducted a usage study of the racquet center in 2022 and found an increasing desire for pickleball and less interest in tennis. In October, City Council voted to demolish the existing racquet court building, championship court, and two clay tennis courts at the Racquet Center, replacing them with eight (now seven) paved pickleball courts in Phase 1.

Four clay tennis courts will remain after the first phase. Phase 2 would replace those courts as well, for a total of 24 pickleball courts. For this phase, the city is going to apply for a tourist development grant from Collier County.

Both phases include specialized sound barriers made to absorb pickleball noise that would be attached to fencing around the courts.

“Phase 2 has not been approved or funded,” Smith said. “This is a great time to find out how these panels work.”

Palumbo said if the panels aren’t enough, the council will have to figure out what to do to improve it.

“I do think we owe these neighbors as much protection as we can afford,” he said. “We would like to attenuate the sound as much as possible.”Currently there is no sound proofing at the facility.

The full design of Phase 1 was awarded to Naples-based Agnoli, Barber & Brundage Inc. It was funded at $786,000 for 2024 and was included in the Fiscal Year 2024 budget City Council approved Sept. 18. The 1-cent infrastructure sales tax is funding $436,000, with another $350,000 from Parks and Recreation impact fees, according to the budget.

Marco Island is applying for a grant from Collier County’s Tourist Development Council for Phase 2 in FY2025.

The grant program is funded through the tourism development taxes, also known as the hotel surtax.  This tax is applied to the rental fees paid by visitors for short-term accommodations such as hotel/motel rooms, condominiums vacation homes, and rental sources.

Initially expected to begin in May, the Phase 1 construction start is now planned for September.

More: Marco Island to apply for tourist grant from Collier County for Pickleball expansion

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Marco Island pickleball conversion moving forward