The old-school basketball courts on Fort Lauderdale beach will be gone one day, replaced by four public pickleball courts just steps from the ocean.
The controversial deal, made more than a year ago between the city and the developer of Bahia Mar, has critics fuming.
Even Fort Lauderdale’s own parks advisory board took the side of the critics, insisting the basketball courts stay exactly where they are at Fort Lauderdale Beach Park.
In light of the outcry, Fort Lauderdale and Bahia Mar officials have worked out a compromise.
New basketball courts will go up nearby on the sand at the developer’s expense, city officials say.
But not everyone approves of the compromise.
“No thank you,” Joy Oglesby, chair of the parks board, told the commission during a recent City Hall meeting. “That’s not what we want. We don’t want it relocated even 100 yards.”
The deal between the city and Bahia Mar was approved in January 2024 by the commission as part of the $2 billion redevelopment of Bahia Mar.
Developer Jimmy Tate and his partners have promised to turn the taxpayer-owned land at 801 Seabreeze Blvd. — long home to the Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show — into a world-class destination in exchange for a 100-year lease. The project, approved in mid-2023, calls for a 256-room hotel and four condo towers with a total of 350 units.
Under the deal, the city is required to convert the existing basketball courts into pickleball courts and install new outdoor fitness equipment by January 2027.
The Bahia Mar Community Development District has agreed to foot the bill, paying up to $1 million for the public improvements.
Plea came too late
Fort Lauderdale’s Parks, Recreation and Beaches advisory board sent a letter to the commission in May objecting to the plan to move the beachfront basketball courts to make way for pickleball courts.
Oglesby reminded the commission of the letter during a recent City Hall meeting.
“The board’s belief is that the basketball courts should not be moved,” Oglesby said. “Don’t even move them from the bridge. They should stay there. If you want to add a pickleball court, add it in another location on the beach. That basketball court should remain exactly where it is, as it is.”
Commissioner Steve Glassman, whose district includes Bahia Mar and the basketball courts across the street, explained why the city is not in a position to change the deal at this point.
“Please understand that the agreement between the city and Bahia Mar to have pickleball at that exact site can only be changed with agreement by both parties,” Glassman said. “And we’ve already been told by the Bahia Mar development team that they have no intention of changing that. I think that train has left the station in terms of asking, ‘Please don’t move the basketball court.’”
New courts, new location
Glassman described the deal as a win-win.
“I’m hoping that the basketball court will move 100 yards of where it is located,” he said. “I’m excited about getting new picnic benches and grills. And I’m also very pleased that we’re getting all new fitness equipment.”
City staffers have already identified possible sites for the new basketball courts and expect to return to the commission this fall with a plan, City Manager Rickelle Williams said during the meeting.
Mayor Dean Trantalis noted that the new picnic benches and grilling stations weren’t part of the original agreement but were added after the public uproar bubbled up over the pickleball plan.
“As Commissioner Glassman says, let’s see if we can make this a win-win where we not only get pickleball on the beach but we also get basketball courts and we also get new picnic tables and new barbecue pits,” Trantalis said. “The idea is to create an enhanced experience for those who visit Fort Lauderdale beach. And I think that’s the goal here.”
Trantalis said he’s talked to some people who use the basketball hoops and was told they don’t object to them moving to another section of beach.
“They just want basketball courts,” Trantalis said. “The location of it has never been a material issue for the people who actually play there. There’s nothing iconic for them. They just love the idea that they can play on the beach. And I support that.”
Commissioner Pamela Beasley-Pittman told the mayor they must have been hearing from two different sets of people.
“I’m getting emails where people are quite concerned about the movement of the basketball courts,” she said. “What they want to see is for them to stay. But I understand the agreement that we’re in and the opportunity we’re facing to provide new basketball courts.
“But there are some individuals who do have a desire to keep it status quo. We have two sets of conversations going on.”
Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com. Follow me on X @Susannah_Bryan