Treasure Island opens cushioned pickleball courts at Rosselli Park

Six new cushioned pickleball courts are set to give Treasure Island a bigger and friendlier place to play, with the city planning a ribbon-cutting at Rosselli Park on April 18 at 9:30 a.m., followed by open play, refreshments and a raffle that includes paddles.

The project replaces the footprint of two former tennis courts with six modern pickleball courts on a fresh foundation, using USA Pickleball-approved nets, top-tier surfacing materials and new fencing. City materials say the redesign was meant to keep changes to the footprint minimal while delivering a full rebuild for pickleball, not a simple tennis court conversion. Demolition of the old courts was completed and site grading had already begun, with construction expected to finish in April 2026.

The biggest payoff for players is the surface. Treasure Island promoted the courts as built with the SportsMaster Pro Cushion System, a shock-absorbing finish the city says is softer and more forgiving than a typical court. That matters for daily play, especially for older players, anyone managing joint stress and vacationers who want a lower-impact place to log games without paying resort-level prices. In a beach market where warm-weather play is part of the draw, a cushioned public court complex raises the value of the stop immediately.

Rosselli Park already sits at Capri Circle South and 2nd Street East on Isle of Capri and functions as a neighborhood recreation hub, with shuffleboard courts, a basketball hoop, picnic tables, restrooms, a playground and the Bill Lyons Little League Ball Field. The new courts deepen that mix and expand a facility Treasure Island already used for pickleball elsewhere in town. At Treasure Bay Golf & Tennis, the city has offered three portable pickleball courts with dedicated lines, equipment available for play, a $5 per-player fee and a Picklepass priced at $75 plus tax for unlimited annual play, with reservations available up to 48 hours ahead.

Public bid records show Treasure Island formally solicited construction bids for the Rosselli Park project, and one listing described it as new construction with site work for a 13,056-square-foot park and playground area. Taken together, the project reads as a serious capital upgrade, not a cosmetic refresh, and it gives the city another reliable warm-weather option for players who want public access, more court capacity and a softer place to compete.