The pickleball-tennis wars have reached a feverish pitch at Valencia Shores, a 55-plus development west of Boynton Beach whose board was looking to take away another tennis court to accommodate the growing demand for pickleball. But the senior community of 1,143 single-family homes recently vetoed the plan to make way for hard-surface pickleball courts and a bocce center. Some of the opposition to the plan came from tennis players who have already lost two courts for pickleball. Approval of the referendum would have resulted in a special assessment of more than $1,000 on each homeowner.
“It is unfortunate it did not pass,” said Ed Brookes, president of the HOA. “The project would have enhanced quality of life at Valencia Shores and would have helped to attract a younger demographic, which the community sorely needs.”
Gail Silverman, who serves on the board with Brookes, opposed the project, arguing that there are far more important projects that need to be undertaken. She claims that the board underestimated the opposition. Silverman noted that she was speaking as a long-time resident of Valencia Shores, and not for the board. Both Silverman and Brookes agree that the wounds inflicted by the controversy will take some time to heal.
“I’m embarrassed to acknowledge how much this has divided the community,” said Silverman. “We used to be a very cohesive, happy community. The name-calling that went on was just crazy.”
Brookes attributed part of the reason for the referendum’s defeat to misinformation spread by opponents.
“They tried to say we had room to build pickleball courts in other areas without impacting tennis. We did not, and we hired an engineering firm (JMorton Planning & Landscape Architecture) to conduct a study that showed we have no room," he said.
Turf wars between tennis and pickleball players are occurring throughout the nation — in retirement communities like Valencia Shores but also in public facilities as well. Tennis players are not happy over the loss of courts and are pushing back, as they did at Valencia Shores. Pickleball courts cannot be built quickly enough to accommodate the growing demand. The Sports and Fitness Industry Association reports that there has been a 224% increase in participation in just the past three years, with more than 10 million people picking up a pickleball racket over the past 12 months.
Source: https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/local/boynton/2025/02/07/valencia-shores-residents-battle-over-tennis-pickleball-courts/78028559007/