Pickleball courts closed for major renovations

Bayfront Park pickleball players will need to save the dinking for the tennis courts over the summer.

The three pickleball-specific courts are closed for a $189,000 renovation as the town removes the concrete base of the courts and replaces it with asphalt. Project Manager David Kushnir said the pickleball court renovations are more than just a resurfacing project and that the project will “address the overall playability and longevity” of the courts.

The courts currently show cracks in the acrylic surface in a grid pattern, which Kushnir attributes to shifts in the concrete pads that sit below the acrylic. The concrete pads will be removed and replaced with asphalt, which will be poured into a concrete-curbed trench that will be filled with three layers. The first “cushion” course will be a 5-inch layer of aggregate stone. Above that will be 4 inches of hot laid bituminous asphalt, and the playing surface will be a 2-inch-thick asphalt mix.

“Asphalt was chosen as the product to allow for a continuous surface,” Kushnir wrote in an email. “Concrete requires expansion joints, which seasonally shift with changes in temperature.”

Photo by S.T. Cardinal

Sport Surfaces LLC, a West Palm Beach-based company, was selected to perform the renovations through the town’s standard bidding process. Work is expected to begin this week and continue into September. A sign installed on the courts lists a tentative completion date of Sept. 15.

The tennis courts, which are lined to accommodate four pickleball courts, will remain open during construction, though temporary closures for debris removal or equipment relocation are possible.