Inverness Country Club seeks OK to add pickleball courts

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The Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission on Monday night voted to recommend the City Council approve a proposed pickleball addition at the Inverness Country Club’s tennis complex.

Due to the growing popularity of pickleball, the Inverness Country Club is seeking to add six pickleball courts to the 16 tennis courts off Inverness Parkway.

If approved by the City Council, the six new pickleball courts would go on one of two spots that originally had been designated as space for future tennis court expansion. Both of the spots already have been cleared and graded for two tennis courts each, but the courts were never built, said Steve Leonard, the general manager of the Inverness Country Club.

With growing demand for pickleball, the club decided it wants to put pickleball courts there instead, starting with six, Leonard said.

The zoning board recommended approval with the condition that use of both the tennis and pickleball courts and the lights with them be limited to 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and that use of any power equipment for maintenance be limited to 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. The lights also must be aimed downward and with shields in an effort to keep the lights from bothering neighboring property owners.

If the Hoover City Council approves the request, the country club hopes to have the new pickleball courts completed and ready to open by the beginning of 2026, Leonard said.

In conjunction with the pickleball addition, the country club has submitted a permit to renovate its tennis clubhouse, which is about 50 years old, Leonard said. If permits are approved expediently, the goal is to have the clubhouse renovation completed by early spring, he said. It’s about a $2 million project, he said.

The Inverness Country Club now has about 800 members, which is about a net increase of 50 new members this year, Leonard said.

In other business Monday, the Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission approved preliminary plans for 93 residential lots and three common area lots in phase six of the Everlee community.