Miami-Dade County Taxpayers deserve dedicated pickleball courts.  Pickleball has become the hottest growing sport in the country and it is time that Miami Dade County taxpayers had their own public pickleball complex. "In 2020-pickleball grew to 4.2 million players in the US, an incredible growth rate of 21.3% from 2019 per the Sports & Fitness Industry Association's (SFIA) 2020 Pickleball Participant Report, released in Feb. 2021." 

In the Miami Dade County Program Plan (March 2019), found on the Miami Dade Parks and Recreation Open Spaces website, it clearly states that "In the most recent year, the fastest growing sports were Boxing for Competition (13.1%) and Pickleball (11.3%)."  Why don't we have dedicated pickleball courts?

Large pickleball complexes have been built all over the State of Florida.  East Naples Community Park in Naples, Florida is the Pickleball Capital of the World with over 60 courts. Today they host the U.S. Open Pickleball Championships and CBS Sports Network now airs the event.  A park that was in shambles now brings Collier County serious economic impact dollars.  Indian Wells in California now converts their tennis courts to pickleball courts to host U.S. National Pickleball Championships.

Fisher Island, Ocean Reef, Salvador Tennis in Coral Gables are the only facilities that host dedicated pickleball courts.  These are the most expensive zip codes in our region and two of which are private.   Residents seeking to engage in exercise and play this fun family addictive sport must travel to other counties to access pickleball in their county parks.  Miami Dade residents seeking to increase their quality of life must fight traffic and we must burden Broward, Palm Beach and Collier counties' resources.

Our tourists seeking to play when they vacation are shocked that Miami Dade does not have facilities or even a park they can play pickleball.  In 2018, Miami Dade Parks department provided lines on 2 existing tennis courts at Miller Park (Miller Drive) - no nets were provided and there are no lights.  The working class community can only access the courts on weekends and then there is constant bickering between the tennis and pickleball players to share these 2 courts.

The need is great and the opportunity is tremendous if we work together to place Miami-Dade County on the map.

WHAT WE ASK

A meeting with you Mayor Levine Cava and Commissioners. 

#MiamiDadeNeedsPickleballCourts