Leland pickleball court dispute stalls Hancock Field revamp

The biggest delay in Leland pickleball right now is not a lack of enthusiasm. It is a fight over land, and it has frozen a Hancock Recreational Area revamp that was supposed to turn a shared field south of the Leland Country Club into something bigger, cleaner and more playable.

Hancock Field, a roughly 13-acre parcel across Union Street from the club, is township-owned but partly leased by Leland Public School, which has used it for decades. The township and the school have been working on separate plans for the site since at least 2024, but the two sides still have not lined up on one of the most basic questions: where to put additional pickleball courts without tearing up the rest of the park.

The dispute centers on the township’s idea of placing several new courts over an existing Little League field. School officials say that would squeeze out usable green space and clash with their own plan for the property. Leland Public School Superintendent Ryan Huppert said the school wants improvements that help the greatest number of people, and he argued that paving over field space would constrain the park. Township Supervisor Clint Mitchell pushed back, saying the current location is not realistic because of trees, a drain field and nearby homes.

That disagreement has real costs for players. The school said a typical spring day at Hancock can already involve girls soccer, varsity track, middle school track, St. Mary’s baseball and Leelanau Soccer Club youth. The school also said in a May 19 email to families that its long investment in Hancock is driven by how heavily the field is used by students, teams, families and the wider community. If the courts stay in limbo, so does the broader revamp that could have added an ice skating rink, a new playground and other improvements alongside pickleball.

The township had already approved a conceptual design for the northern portion of Hancock Field in October 2025, with its work estimated at about $1.7 million. Mitchell said the broader package, including long-term maintenance and improvements to Grove Park in Lake Leelanau, could come in around $2 million, and he said fundraising could potentially reduce or replace a millage request. But the plans stalled as the school and township both said they want one overall conceptual document that shows how the site fits together.

The school has offered one possible compromise: return jurisdiction over the existing pickleball and tennis court area to the township so more courts could be added there instead. Mitchell said that area sits too close to homes. Huppert said the school does not oppose more pickleball facilities, only the idea of losing field space when other options exist.

A planned joint workshop for May 20 was canceled after the township opted out, and Huppert called the township’s position “non-negotiable.” For now, Hancock remains what so many promised pickleball projects become when the land-use math stops working: a place with a plan, but no new courts.