Palm Coast's Southern Recreation Center opens with 12 pickleball courts

Palm Coast’s Southern Recreation Center has changed the local pickleball map by putting 12 dedicated courts into one public facility, with six covered courts and six uncovered outdoor courts ready for open play, leagues, tournaments and instruction. For players, that means more court time in one place, less weather risk on half the surface, and a layout built to handle everything from casual drop-ins to organized competition.

The city’s refreshed May 27 update says the center is open and operating as a full recreation campus, not just a court cluster. Alongside the pickleball courts, the site includes 15 tennis courts, food-and-beverage space, locker rooms, two multi-purpose rooms and administrative offices, with the Lehigh Trailhead next door. That kind of setup gives Palm Coast room to stage bigger local events and spread out traffic across different activities instead of forcing players into a single-use facility.

The biggest boost for new and improving players is the on-site instruction. Sylvia Whitehouse is listed as the pickleball professional and instructor at the center, and the city describes her as IPTPA certified, a Selkirk-sponsored player and a DUPR-rated competitor above 5.0. Her background, which includes medal finishes at the US Open, USA National and senior events, gives Palm Coast a coaching presence that can serve beginners learning the basics and advanced players looking for sharper drills and match play.

Access comes with a fee structure for pickleball even though the facility itself was free to enter after its opening. The city offered day, monthly limited, monthly and annual pickleball passes, while directing players who want a no-pass option to Holland Park. That split matters because it lets the Southern Recreation Center function as the city’s main structured pickleball venue while still keeping another public option in the mix for players who just want a quick game.

The center officially opened with a grand opening on February 23, 2024, and Mayor David Alfin called it an “indoor-outdoor wonderland.” The buildout also fits into a longer racquet-sports history in Palm Coast, where tennis dates back to 1971 and the Palm Coast Tennis Association formed by the end of 1974. In June 2024, city council approved a $739,158 USTA grant agreement for phase 2, which would add a stadium court and four clay courts, showing that the Southern Recreation Center is part of a larger expansion strategy that still has room to grow.