Tennis Center returns to plan to sell alcohol

The Longboat Key Public Tennis Center wants to practice its serve of additional items.

The Tennis Center is scheduled to present a proposal at the Longboat Key Town Commission’s Thursday, May 24, regular workshop to allow beer and wine sales during regular business hours, according to the commission’s draft agenda.

According to Tennis Center Manager Kay Thayer, the facility’s staffers frequently hear members and tournament participants say that they would like to have a drink, particularly a beer, after matches on hot days.

The commission discussed the same proposal at a March 2011 workshop but didn’t reach consensus to move forward with the plan. At the time, the commission heard from a local tennis-facility owner who worried alcohol sales could interfere with his business.

Sales would be limited to the facility’s current vending refrigerator, and customers would have to go to the cash register and directly pay for their drinks, like they do for beverages currently offered at the Tennis Center.

“We think it would be another service for the Tennis Center to offer during working hours,” Thayer said. “This isn’t going to be like a restaurant with people serving you. Hopefully, we can explain that better.”

Thayer estimated that the costs and revenue associated with the proposal would be the same as those outlined in a memorandum former Town Manager Bruce St. Denis sent to the commission last March: $400 for an annual license fee, annual expenses of $3,000 and annual revenues of $5,000, for an estimated profit of $2,000.

If the proposal is accepted, don’t think you’ll be taking non-tennis related shots on the court. The proposal is limited to wine and beer and would prohibit alcohol consumption on tennis courts and the parking area. Consumption would be limited to the Tennis Center’s balcony and patio, observation decks and viewing areas.