Brent Batten: Players backhanded by proposed pickleball fee increases

The pickleball crowd isn’t exactly akin to a biker gang.

They show up in shorts rather than leathers carrying backpacks rather than chain wallets.

But show up they do, in huge numbers on weekday mornings at county parks to play the game that has taken over, literally.

At Veterans Community Park on Immokalee Road, for instance, pickleball has supplanted tennis during most park hours.

The four lighted tennis courts at the park become eight pickleball courts with the help of portable nets and lines painted over the tennis boundaries.

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That’s in addition to the eight dedicated pickleball courts across the parking lot.

East Naples Community Park has 54 courts. Still, players outnumber the four available spots on each court.

Keeping track of who’s next up and on which court takes some doing.

Since the pickleball set is generally a genteel group, it is largely a self-policing affair.

But you can see the need for fees to support the staff required to keep things running smoothly.

How high should those fees be? Part of the problem is there is nothing quite like Collier County’s pickleball experience to go by.

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According to county Parks and Recreation Director Barry Williams, the East Naples site has more courts in one place than anywhere in the state.

Proposed fee increases in the 67% to 100% range for residents caught the attention of county commissioners last month.

Increases for non-residents would be even more eye-popping, from $50 to $150 for an annual membership at one of the two parks covered by the fees.

Commissioners tabled the idea of fee increases until later in the spring.

That should give staff and the vendor that collects and keeps most of the fee revenue, Pickleball Enterprises, time to arrive at the proper amount.

This much seems clear: Doubling the fee in one stroke is a lot for pickleball players to swallow.

Such increases are typically phased in over time. A sudden jump would suggest the fees were set too low to begin with, which is possible considering the newness of it all.

But that case would have to be built and presented to the public, not placed on a consent agenda to be passed without discussion, which is how the proposal was first submitted to commissioners.

A reasonable fee would cover the vendor’s costs plus a fair profit and allow for upkeep of the courts. The option of having county staff, rather than the vendor, tend the courts should be included for consideration.

There are those that will argue the county shouldn’t charge anything for the use of a county park.

But that argument isn’t realistic.

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The county charges baseball and softball players to play in its leagues. Soccer players also pay fees. The use of swimming pools and boat ramps entails fees.

True, you can play pickup basketball for nothing and if you’re lucky enough to find a tennis court that hasn’t been taken over by pickleball, casual use of that is free, too.

But the more popular something is, the greater the demand, the more likely it is fees will come into play. And pickleball has gotten very popular here. So much so that Pickleball Enterprises owners’ have laid legal claim to the title, “Pickleball Capital of the World.”

For the record, it is possible to play pickleball for free at Collier County parks.

The fee requirement only applies Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to noon. There is no fee for afternoon, evening or weekend play.

When the pickleball fee comes back to county commissioners, players aren’t likely to roar into the meeting on Harleys, but you can bet they’ll be there to advocate against dramatic increases.

The county staff and its vendor need to have a solid argument to support whatever amount they arrive at.

Connect with Brent Batten at brent.batten@naplesnews.com or via Facebook.

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