Good morning Mr Wright!

My name is Kevin Hosford and my wife and I are residents of the Tiger Point neighborhood.  We also own a business here in the area and have been residents for 6 years. We regularly use the Tool Shack, staff is always fantastic there. We absolutely love the area!

I wanted to reach out to you about getting dedicated Pickelball courts built at Tiger Point Park. We have asked about this in the past as we realize it's a process for approval. We currently use the tennis courts (which we are thankful for), however there are significant differences:

1) net height- this is big as the tennis players and pickelball players adjust the net height. One of the nets we have to use pliers to adjust- no biggie for us but someone is going to get hurt.

2) back fencing- we are chasing the ball 20 plus yards- normal pickelball courts have fencing much closer

3) All the lines make it difficult, especially for the older players 

4) divider fencing- pickelballs are light, therefore the wind blows them everywhere.  I know the tennis players get irritated with the pickelballs always blowing in there court. Especially on days with a side wind. Eventually someone will get hurt with a ball going under their feet.

Few other things:

1) court availability- as spring hits, it becomes very difficult to get on

2) surface- the court was resurfaced recently, however it is already having significant issues- cracks, surface breakdown, etc

My goal is not to complain, but merely explain some of the differences. Pickelball is a quickly growing rec sport, for example the Villages (Ocala area has over 150 courts in the neighborhood alone). Holley by the Sea just built courts- no access for outsiders. Gulf Breeze Rec has plans to build some- believe they are delayed? It would be awesome to have dedicated courts in our area.

Thanks for you time and I look forward to hearing from you!

Regards,

Kevin Hosford 

850.736.3220

khosford21@yahoo.com