Fort Lauderdale\u2019s popular beachfront basketball courts \u2014 once at risk of being moved to make way for pickleball \u2014 may yet survive.<\/p>\n
Mayor Dean Trantalis announced a tentative agreement with the developers of Bahia Mar during a neighborhood meeting Thursday night, prompting applause from residents who want the courts to say right where they\u2019ve been for at least four decades.<\/p>\n
The courts sit across the street from Bahia Mar, directly on the sand just north of the pedestrian bridge that crosses State Road A1A. The plan to keep the courts in place won\u2019t happen without approval from several entities, including an official sign-off by Bahia Mar\u2019s developer.<\/p>\n
In January 2024, Fort Lauderdale approved off-site improvements that included the conversion of basketball courts into pickleball courts by January 2027.<\/p>\n
A loud and swift outcry from fans of the basketball courts had city officials scrambling<\/a> to come up with a compromise.<\/p>\n A first, Fort Lauderdale proposed new basketball courts<\/a> farther south on the beach, but critics gave the idea a thumbs down<\/a>, insisting the courts stay put.<\/p>\n Some of those same critics were in the room Thursday night when Trantalis shared the latest news.<\/p>\n \u201cI had a meeting last week with the developer (of Bahia Mar) and he\u2019s agreed to not only keep them there but also improve them by resurfacing the basketball courts and maybe even add another basket or two to the area,\u201d Trantalis said Thursday during a monthly meeting hosted by the River Oaks Civic Association. \u201cThe only thing that\u2019s going to happen to the basketball courts is they\u2019re going to be shinier and prettier and they\u2019re going to stay where they are.\u201d<\/p>\n Ted Inserra, the association\u2019s president, said he invited the mayor to speak at the meeting but had no idea he\u2019d share that kind of news.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were ecstatic,\u201d Inserra said of the crowd, which included members of the Beach Ballers group that formed to help save the courts. \u201cWe had no idea he was going to come out last night and say that. When he said that there was a lot of high-fiving and chest bumping after the meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n Fort Lauderdale has already approved a plan that allows developer Jimmy Tate<\/a> to build a five-star resort and four condo towers on taxpayer-owned land at Bahia Mar<\/a>. Tate, whose company owns the 100-year lease on Bahia Mar, has teamed up with the Related Group to build the project.<\/p>\n The Bahia Mar Community Development District plans to contribute up to $1 million for off-site improvements at the beach. The city plans to kick in another $1.3 million.<\/p>\n Switching gears now would require a commission vote along with approval from the developer of a new resort and condo towers slated to rise at Bahia Mar. It would also need a green light from the Bahia Mar Community Development District that represents the interests of the future condo owners.<\/p>\n Pickleball coming too<\/p>\n Pickleball courts are still in the plans, Tate told the South Florida Sun Sentinel on Friday.<\/p>\n At the request of the city, Tate said he has put in a request with the Community Development District to extend the January 2027 deadline for the proposed public improvements.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a proposed solution that will include keeping the basketball courts in the same location,\u201d Tate said. \u201cWe are here to be good partners and responsible community leaders and as such, we will regroup and work toward a solution.\u201d<\/p>\n Any changes to the plan will require the approval of condo buyers and attorneys, Tate added.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are lots of details that need to be worked out, but we are community developers,\u201d Tate said. \u201cWe do not destroy communities and therefore, we will find a reasonable solution that works for the vast majority, if not everyone. Stay tuned.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018No plans are set in stone\u2019<\/p>\n Commissioner Steve Glassman was not at the neighborhood meeting. But after he heard about the announcement, he questioned whether the mayor spoke too soon.<\/p>\n \u201cI sincerely hope that the mayor\u2019s comments are not premature,\u201d said Glassman, a pickleball enthusiast who prefers to stick to the original plan.<\/p>\n \u201cThe pickleball courts will get built. Four of them,\u201d Glassman said Friday. \u201cThere will be new pickleball courts. There will be new basketball courts. There will be new grills and benches. It will be a nice little activated campus of activities.\u201d<\/p>\n Last month, commissioners were expected to approve the controversial proposal to move the basketball courts. But after critics came to protest the move, the commission agreed to delay the vote.<\/p>\n The commission appointed the mayor to act as a liaison and meet with the developer to see if they could come up with a new plan that would let the basketball courts stay in place.<\/p>\n \u201cNo plans are set in stone,\u201d Glassman said. \u201cThe Community Development District is going to have to come to some sort of agreement, then it will come back to the commission. The commission will have the final say.\u201d<\/p>\n