County looks to replace racquetball courts at parks, but costs are high and play is scarce
The Palm Beach County parks department is moving forward with plans to replace 40-year old outdoor racquetball/handball courts at three parks — Caloosa in Boynton Beach and Haverhill and Lake Lytal near West Palm Beach.
But like other capital projects, funding has become an issue, and it threatens to delay the work until county officials provide more money to meet the escalating costs that were first estimated in 2016.
Bids are expected to be received later in February for the demolition of 16 courts at Caloosa Park. The county budgeted $800,000 for the work. If the bids do not exceed that figure, work could begin by May. And bids would then be sought for the construction of seven new racquetball courts and five dedicated handball courts. Budgeted for the new court construction is $810,000.
The demolition of courts at two other parks — Lake Lytal and Haverhill — is already on hold, said Parks Development Director Bob Hamilton. The county budgeted $276,000 for Lake Lytal; the lowest bid came in at three times that amount.
"We will need direction from the county as to how to proceed," Hamilton said. Budget officials are struggling to cope with shortfalls for capital improvement projects throughout the county. Under consideration is a bond issue to pay for the rising costs.
Hamilton said the courts at Caloosa Park are often used in the morning hours for both handball and racquetball. Handball enthusiasts will get their own courts specifically designed for that sport, Hamilton said. The courts feature three cement walls and can also be used for tennis practice.
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Using funds from Infrastructure Sales Tax, the construction of the new racquetball/handball courts have been allocated $1.4 million, but there are concerns whether that will be sufficient. It is expected to take several months to build the new courts once they are demolished.
"There will be some down time," said Hamilton, "but we will always have at least one park with courts while we work on the others."
Is there enough racquetball play to justify replacing courts?
The parks department was awarded $200,000 from the Solid Waste Authority Blighted and Distressed Property Cleanup and Beautification fund to demolish the courts. The racquetball/handball courts were constructed more than 40 years ago and have fallen into disrepair.
The courts at Duncan Padgett Park in Pahokee will also be torn down, but, unlike the other ones, they will not be replaced. The plan calls for them to be converted into a picnic area. The parks department says the courts, built in 1979, are in poor condition and are "receiving very little use." The community requested the conversion, according to documents submitted to the county commission.
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The SportsRX web site reports that racquetball was the fastest-growing sport in America in the 1970s. Sports clubs around the country started building racquetball courts to meet the demand. But it has seen a steep decline in recent years. A number of HOAs tore down their handball/racquetball courts to make way for pickleball.
Parks Director Jennifer Cirillo said that, for the most part, people still use the racquetball courts at county parks, and that is why they are being rebuilt. But she said that the level of play may not justify the cost of another round of repairs.
Hamilton said there are so few outdoor racquetball/handball courts left in the county that he believes a case can be made to keep the number of courts at their current levels.
Mike Diamond is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government and transportation. You can reach him at mdiamond@pbpost.com. Help support local journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Racquetball courts at three Palm Beach county parks to be replaced
