Boca Raton's two biggest racquet projects of the past year sit on Yamato Road and a few blocks north of it. Both are being built on land held by the Greater Boca Raton Beach & Park District. On Nov. 18, Boca Paddle by CityPickle is scheduled to open at 50 W. Jeffrey St., near North Dixie Highway. That puts it roughly two months after Patch Reef Park Paddle & Racquet Club finished rebuilding the last of its older courts.
The ownership explains the club's terms. Boca Paddle runs on memberships, with an inaugural cap of 1,000 members. But it stands on public parkland under a concession agreement with the District, so the deal includes day passes, a discounted day-pass rate for city residents, and a restaurant open to the public.
A Membership Club on Public Land
The District requested proposals for a public-private partnership to design, build and manage a racquet facility on the southeast portion of North Park. It awarded the project to the Malcolm Butters group in March 2024 and approved a contract with Boca Paddle in August 2024. Under the agreement, the District is responsible for bringing sewer, utilities, parking and road access to the Boca Paddle property line.
In a Q&A with The Boca Raton Tribune, Butters Construction & Development CEO Malcolm Butters described the club as the first building in Boca's new public North Park. He noted that the landowner is the District, not the city.
Here is what that means in practice, as reported by The Palm Beach Post:
- Membership plans range from $49 to $149, with a $299 premium tier and no initiation fee.
- Day passes cost $35 for Boca Raton residents and $40 for nonresidents.
- Farmer's Kitchen, the full-service restaurant run by Farmer's Table owner Mitchell Robbins, is open to the public.
The Tribune Q&A adds that no membership or day pass is needed to eat there, and calls the restaurant, café and bar the facility's main gathering area. For someone who lives nearby and doesn't play at all, that makes a Jeffrey Street lunch spot a new option.
The two published cost figures don't match. The Post put the club at $20 million. The District's September 2026 capital projects overview describes a $17 million construction commitment from the Boca Paddle group.
What the Building Holds
Most of Boca's outdoor courts are built for the cooler months. Boca Paddle is designed mainly around air conditioning. The building covers 100,000 square feet on 8.1 acres and holds 25 courts.
| Court type | Pickleball | Padel | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indoor, climate-controlled | 14 | 2 | 16 |
| Outdoor, canopy-covered | 5 | ||
| Outdoor, uncovered | 4 | ||
| All courts | 19 | 6 | 25 |
One of the pickleball courts is a 1,000-seat stadium court called The Royal Court. The club will be home to the Palm Beach Royals, a Major League Pickleball team. Every court gets cameras and a 70-inch monitor for keeping score, watching replays and sending points to a coach. Some courts are set aside for first-time players, and the Post reports more than 200 hours of court time a day across clinics, lessons, open play, leagues and tournaments.
The rest of the building covers recovery and remote work. It includes a warmup and recovery area, physical therapy services, locker rooms with showers, saunas, a cold-plunge pool, co-working space, private phone booths and event spaces.
Co-founder Brian Levine, a Boca Raton resident, told the Post on Oct. 2 that "Boca Raton is the pickleball capital of the world." He said the city is home to seven of the world's top-ranked pickleball players, including the four top-ranked women. The partnership includes pros Anna Bright, Ben Johns, JW Johnson, Jorja Johnson and Gabriel Tardio, along with CityPickle, Life Time and the District.
Patch Reef Got There First
The District's other big racquet investment is on Yamato Road, and it set the stage for Boca Paddle. Patch Reef Park Paddle & Racquet Club at 2000 Yamato Road opened its new 18-court covered pickleball complex in October 2025, about a month ahead of schedule. Two of those courts are ADA-compliant, and the District reported lighting, fans, seating and a sound system when the complex opened.
The second phase got less attention. The park's original asphalt went down in 1987. A 2019 geotechnical study recommended full reconstruction rather than another resurfacing, and staff inspections in late 2024 and early 2025 found pitting, delamination and sand coming up through the court layers.
The contractor was already on site, so the District's board approved a $2,685,914.52 change order in July 2025 to rebuild 13 hard courts, 12 existing pickleball courts, the practice areas and the hitting wall. The work was phased so the whole facility never closed at once, and it was completed in September 2026.
Patch Reef and Boca Paddle define "resident" differently. Patch Reef's booking site treats any Palm Beach County resident with proof as a resident, and players need staff-verified status before they can book. Boca Paddle's discounted day pass is for Boca Raton residents.
Patch Reef's current program listing shows open play on weekday mornings from 7:30 to 11:45 a.m., weekday evenings from 4:45 p.m. to close, and weekend mornings from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Where Each Kind of Player Ends Up
The new courts are mostly pickleball and padel. Clay-court tennis stays where it has been, and the cheapest open play is still at Sugar Sand Park.
| Venue | Location | What it offers | Price point on record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boca Paddle by CityPickle | 50 W. Jeffrey St., North Park | 19 pickleball, 6 padel, mostly indoor | $35 resident, $40 nonresident day pass |
| Patch Reef Park Paddle & Racquet Club | 2000 Yamato Road | 18 covered pickleball courts plus rebuilt tennis and pickleball courts | Booking requires verified status |
| Boca Raton Tennis Center | Memorial Park, 271 NW Boca Raton Blvd. | 10 Har-Tru clay courts | Online booking |
| Swim & Racquet Center | District facility | 26 Har-Tru tennis courts, clinics, junior programs | See District site |
| Sugar Sand Park Field House | City of Boca Raton | Indoor pickleball open play | $4 resident, $8 nonresident |
The difference between $4 at Sugar Sand Park Field House and $35 at Boca Paddle covers climate control, camera-equipped courts, a recovery suite and a restaurant. The city also notes that Sugar Sand Park's open-play times vary and the schedule can change without notice. For tennis, the clay at Boca Raton Tennis Center and the District's Swim & Racquet Center still accounts for 36 Har-Tru courts between them.
The Dates Between Now and Next Summer
Boca Paddle is the first of several pieces planned for North Park.
- Now. Hard-hat tours of Boca Paddle can be booked through the club's Picktime page, and membership presales are open at bocapaddleclub.com.
- Nov. 18. Boca Paddle's scheduled opening day.
- June 2027. Target for substantial completion of North Park's eastern section. The District awarded that contract to Butters Construction in June 2026 and broke ground in September 2026.
The District's overview says North Park will also get pavilions, trails and a playground next to Boca Paddle. By next summer, people heading to Jeffrey Street will have more than courts to visit, and the club's restaurant will open onto a public park rather than a construction site.
When an amenity like Boca Paddle opens, it changes how the nearby streets feel day to day. Stephanie tracks those shifts across Palm Beach County for owners who are often out of town when they happen. If you'd like to talk through how North Park's buildout fits into your plans for a north Boca property, Stephanie Schwed is glad to share what she's seeing on the ground. Let's Connect.
