Bayfront Park's Courts Reopened Right as the Lights Came Back On. The Building Behind Them Has a Longer Story.

The pickleball courts at Bayfront Park have a new asphalt surface where the cracked concrete used to be, and their fences now sit a little farther from the lines than first planned. The town reopened them on Oct. 23 along with the basketball court. That left about a week before the Nov. 1 date when the court lights stay on until 10 p.m. again for the winter.

In the same park sits the Bayfront Park Recreation Center, a 1,350-square-foot building that dates to 1970 and started its life at another resort. The town now fixes the park in summer so the work is done before seasonal residents come back, and the courts show that approach works. The building is harder. It has outlasted every plan to replace it, and the newest plan depends on private donors because voters turned down the last bond.

Asphalt, because the concrete kept cracking

The resurfacing cost $193,995 and kept the courts closed through the summer. According to Your Observer's Oct. 30 report, Mark Richardson, Longboat Key's streets, facilities, parks and recreation manager, said the cracks came from the concrete pads under the old surface. They shifted as temperatures changed, and the expansion joints that a large concrete pour needs left the playing surface uneven. The new asphalt holds up better against those shifts.

The basketball court also has new hoops with clear backboards and upgraded breakaway rims.

The project ran over its original budget and schedule. The town put it out to bid in May and first advertised a mid-September finish. Part of the delay came from a late request. Shawn Leven wrote to the Town Commission for pickleball players, asking that the new fences sit farther from the painted lines so players chasing wide and deep shots would not hit them. Post holes had already been bored and had to be filled. Moving the fence line out about a foot added $4,995, which took the total from $189,000 to $193,995.

The summer timing was intentional. The town scheduled the work while many seasonal residents and visitors were away. On Longboat Key the busy season peaks from January to Easter.

"This is going to be crazy busy. By Christmas, you'll be lining around the block to use these."

That was Tamsin Morrison, a Spanish Main resident who has played at Bayfront for years, speaking to Your Observer on the afternoon of Oct. 27.

The winter court rules, now that the lights are back

If she's right about the lines, the court rules matter more from here to April. The Town of Longboat Key's Bayfront Park page sets them out:

• Hours: The park is open 5 a.m. to 11 p.m.
• Lit play: Courts are open until 10 p.m. from Nov. 1 through April 30. From May 1 through Oct. 31 the lights stay off for turtle season.
• Turn-taking: Courts are first-come, first-served. When others are waiting, singles play is limited to one hour and doubles to an hour and a half.
• Courts on site: Three dedicated pickleball courts, one tennis court and one basketball court, plus shuffleboard.

The same page lists a playground, a multipurpose field, picnic tables, restrooms, and a Level 2 electric vehicle charger. The parking lot also serves the town's public beach access across Gulf of Mexico Drive. Alcohol is not allowed on the grounds without special permission. Dogs are kept out of the main park area and have their own dog park. Sarasota County's facility listing for the park adds a canoe and kayak launch, a fishing pier, and a paved trail.

Over the years the park's amenities have changed. The baseball diamond is gone, pickleball came in, and the dog park and kayak ramps were added. The building at the center has stayed.

The rec center started as another resort's tennis pro shop

Your Observer traced the building's history in May:

1. 1970: Property appraiser records date the building to this year. It served as the tennis pro shop at Far Horizons Resort, where it stayed for 14 years.
2. Early 1980s: Murf Klauber took over the Far Horizons property and planned to redevelop it into a spa. The pro shop was judged worth keeping.
3. 1984: Klauber gave the building to Longboat Key Community Center Inc., the group that pushed for Bayfront Park, and paid $5,000 to move it to where it stands now.
4. 1994: The Town of Longboat Key took over running the recreation center.

It is still busy. Richardson told Your Observer that 3,264 people took fitness classes there in 2025, and then-Town Manager Howard Tipton said the town had doubled the number of classes offered. Yoga, Pilates and workout classes still meet there regularly. Tipton also said this about the building: "It is certainly functioning and doing well, but it is coming to the end of its useful life."

Why the replacement plan now relies on donors

Replacing the building has come up again and again. Richardson told Your Observer that architects have been working on a conceptual design since 2003, adjusting it each time the topic comes back.

The biggest attempt went to voters. In 2004, a ballot measure proposed a property tax assessment to pay for a $6.4 million, 3,000-square-foot community center. It failed, with 68.1% voting against.

The current effort takes a different route. In its goals and objectives letter, the Longboat Key Foundation said it wants to work with the town on a fundraising campaign for a new recreation center. Susan Phillips leads the foundation and spent 27 years as assistant to the town manager. She put it plainly in the May article: "I think it's beyond refurbishing. We've done the 'lipstick on the pig' several times already."

Her model is the welcome center at Lovers Key State Park near Fort Myers Beach. It was designed by Sweet Sparkman Architecture, the same firm that designed Longboat Key's new Fire Station 92. Phillips said a building like that would give the park a beach-to-bay view. As of May, fundraising was waiting on a conceptual design and a price estimate, and Tipton said the town might pay for the conceptual design work.

The courts are a useful comparison. They were a town project, bid in May and finished in October. The building has gone through a failed referendum, more than two decades of revised drawings, and now depends on private fundraising that has to start with a design and a cost.

The town forum meets on the same grounds

The rec center is also where the town holds Let's Talk Longboat, its informal resident meetings. The town describes them as a chance to meet the town manager, Assistant Town Manager Isaac Brownman and other town leaders, bring up ideas and concerns, and hear updates.

The person running the town has changed this season. George Landry took over from Tipton on Sept. 14 as Longboat Key's 12th town manager, as Your Observer reported. He stood in for Tipton at the Sept. 15 forum.

Here's what's coming up through December:

The November listing on the town calendar has the details. The 3 p.m. start also leaves most of the afternoon open for the courts, which stay lit until 10 p.m. through April 30.

If Bayfront Park is part of your week on Longboat Key, or if you're deciding where on the island your days would center, I'm glad to talk through how the north-central part of the key works across the seasons. Evan Weber has spent more than 25 years on the Suncoast barrier islands. Let's Connect.