Sports
Pensacola Council set to OK port’s first 8 pickleball courts
PNJ.com headlines: Here’s what’s in the news on Tuesday, April 23
Vacant International Paper golf course in Cantonment gets new lease on life, and Santa Rosa Clerk tightening vendor payment methods after fraud
Pickleball at the Port of Pensacola is set to move forward with eight tournament-size outdoor pickleball courts under an updated lease with the city.
The Pensacola City Council is set to approve a lease amendment that changes the property lines that will allow the phase one of the Warehouse 4 Sports pickleball courts announced in February to move forward.
The plans included eight tournament-size outdoor pickleball courts, a space for outdoor games like cornhole or giant checkers, and a waterfront concessions area with seating and views of Pensacola Bay.
Under the updated lease terms, Warehouse 4 Sports will extend the public sidewalk along the water’s edge of the Commendencia Slip more than 150 feet to allow for public access to the restaurant and concession area of the project.
Warehouse 4 Sports and the city signed an initial 15-year lease last year for the 45,000-square-foot 1960s building at the port known as Warehouse No. 4 and the surrounding property to convert it into an indoor sports and convention space with a daily role as an indoor pickleball facility.
Previously: Portside Pickle to build eight outdoor pickleball courts
Under the updated lease, Warehouse 4 Sports will also be required to build 11 parking spots inside the Port’s security perimeter that will be parking spaces for the new American Magic headquarters.
Rent under the lease is also being raised from $26,000 a year to $36,000 plus property taxes. There is also a requirement to invest $4 million into the project by the end of the 15-year lease.
The City Council kept the updated lease on its consent agenda during its Monday agenda conference ahead of its regular Thursday meeting, indicating it has the unanimous support of the council. Items on consent agenda are approved during a single vote at the beginning of a regular meeting, if a single council member opposes an item, it will be removed from the consent agenda for a separate vote.
Warehouse 4 Sports said in February that once construction begins on the outdoor courts, it will take three to four months before construction is complete.