Lee County Approves $616K Pickleball Complex at Phillips Park in Bokeelia

Pine Island pickleball players have been sharing overlaid lines on tennis courts for years. That changes this fall. The Lee County Board of County Commissioners voted Tuesday to authorize $616,199.30 in construction at Phillips Park in Bokeelia, contracting Stultz Inc. to build three dedicated pickleball courts along with fencing, benches, sidewalks, landscaping and one ADA-accessible parking space.

The distinction matters to anyone who has played there. The three existing asphalt courts at Phillips Park are striped for pickleball over tennis court lines, leaving players with nets that run taller than regulation height. The new courts, to be built just east of the existing tennis courts, will be purpose-built for the sport.

Construction is scheduled to begin in May. Lee County expects the courts to be ready for play by fall 2026, giving Pine Island its first standalone pickleball facility.

The county's move followed years of resident requests for dedicated courts. Players at Phillips Park have organized around a Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday morning schedule, running 8 to 10 a.m., but the shared-net arrangement has long been a friction point. When player Brittany Fenning was asked about the situation last September, she said she would raise money herself to reline the courts and install a proper pickleball net if the county wouldn't act. "If we were to have a fundraiser, can we re-stripe it and can we put in a new net?" she said. The county's $616K answer arrived seven months later.

Lee County Communications Director Betsy Clayton had confirmed in September 2025 that the county planned three dedicated courts just east of the existing tennis courts. The approved contract amendment with Stultz Inc. now puts that plan under a not-to-exceed price and routes it through standard county permitting and procurement timelines.

The scope, three courts rather than a larger complex, reflects the constrained footprint at Phillips Park but also a deliberate county strategy: add usable capacity incrementally within existing park layouts rather than holding out for a purpose-built facility. The $616K budget signals a commitment to durable surfacing and accessibility features; at that price point, this is not a temporary striping job but a constructed facility with real infrastructure.

Once permits clear and Stultz schedules crews, the groundwork begins on what will be Bokeelia's only dedicated pickleball infrastructure. By fall, the Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday regulars will have purpose-built courts with regulation net height, proper fencing and accessible parking, instead of working around the compromises that come with sharing space designed for a different sport.