Nine pickleball courts at The Yards in Ponte Vedra Beach now sit under a steel roof instead of open sky, part of a $1.5 million renovation the club says was designed to keep paddles moving no matter what Florida weather throws at players. The facility, known as The Pickle Garden, reopened the covered courts alongside three uncovered ones, giving members and public players a shaded alternative to the region's punishing sun and sudden afternoon storms.
The project was announced as complete in reporting from The Business Journals, which detailed the $1.5 million investment behind the transformation. According to the club's own site, playtheyards.com, the facility now counts nine covered courts and three uncovered courts, with the covered surfaces freshly resurfaced as well as shaded. The site describes the goal plainly: protection from the Florida sun paired with improved court surfaces for players of every skill level.
A Roof Built to Outlast Summer Storms
Construction on the covered courts began in summer 2026 and wrapped up in September, per the seed reporting. The timing tracked with a stretch of disruptive weather, as thunderstorms and summer heat had repeatedly interrupted pickleball programming at the club before the roof went up. The renovation itself includes a durable steel roof, overhead fans and spectator seating, creating what the club describes as a covered open-air facility meant to retain the feel of outdoor play while adding shade and shelter.
The idea is to let organized programming continue regardless of conditions. The newly covered courts are meant to support expanded leagues, competitive events and year-round play for players across the greater Jacksonville area, and The Pickle Garden's offerings already span open play, competitive leagues, clinics and casual matches, according to the same account from playtheyards.com. The club also lists after-school programs, instructional clinics, private bookings and fundraising events among the programming the space supports.
Pickleball's Steady Rise at The Yards
The Yards opened in 2020 at Sawgrass Players Club in Ponte Vedra Beach and didn't add pickleball until May 2022, when The Pickle Garden debuted alongside the club's golf and tennis offerings. The venue operates as a semi-private club. Running the pickleball side is Maria Nili, the club's pickleball director, who spent years officiating at major professional tennis events and also played collegiate tennis, according to the staff bio on playtheyards.com.
The Yards' pickleball program includes open play, competitive leagues and clinics.
Part of a Statewide Building Boom
The covered-court project comes amid several recent and planned pickleball developments in Florida.
Florida has been near the center of that boom. The state had the second-highest number of pickleball locations in the country as of 2024, with 770 known sites, according to Jacksonville.com, which also noted that the Association of Pickleball Professionals counted 48.6 million American adults who had played the sport at least once between March 2022 and March 2023. Jacksonville.com reported that PickleRage opened a new indoor facility at 10320 Shops Lane in Jacksonville with a grand-opening event in January 2025, while Pickleball Kingdom has announced plans for 15 new indoor facilities spread across seven Florida counties including Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach.
Even bigger projects are on the way elsewhere in the state. Boca Paddle by CityPickle is slated to open as a 100,000-square-foot pickleball and padel complex in Boca Raton next month, according to the Bradenton Herald, which reported the $20 million facility will include 25 courts, 16 of them climate-controlled indoor courts, plus a 1,000-seat stadium court.
