On the bay side of Collins Avenue at number 15800, a waterfront walkway now runs past new multi-use courts for tennis and basketball, plus a row of outdoor exercise equipment. Intracoastal Sports Park held its grand opening on Thursday, September 3, with a ribbon cutting, tennis and fitness demonstrations, and live music. The City announced the opening on September 16, 2026. The park is open sunrise to sunset. The courts keep a split schedule, 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and then 5 to 10 p.m., so the hot middle of the day is dark.
The City's own planning had this park finishing in December 2025 or January 2026. It opened about eight months later. It arrived during a season when other parts of the city's waterfront are fenced off, under repair, or closed until further notice. The courts are one piece of a bigger shift. This fall, the City's newest recreation space is on the Intracoastal, and it is set up for people who carry a Sunny Isles Beach Resident ID card.
A park built around a card
Every reservation goes through one gate. Only residents with a valid Sunny Isles Beach Resident ID card can reserve courts online, at sibfl.gov/activities. Everyone else can still play, but they come in through other doors.
For a cardholder, the booking system works like this:
- Book up to seven days ahead, in one-hour slots that start on the hour.
- Each household gets three reservations a week, no more than one per day, and only one court at a time.
- Bring up to three guests for tennis or up to nine for basketball. Guests don't need to live in the city, but each one needs a signed waiver on file.
- Basketball reservations are only available from 5 to 8 p.m. daily.
- Arrive on time. There's a ten-minute grace period, and after that the reservation is forfeited.
The penalty rules show how much demand the City expects. If you no-show or cancel less than twelve hours ahead, you can be suspended from booking. Three of those in a 90-day quarter brings a one-month ban from online booking. Cancellations go through your CivicRec account or by email to [email protected]. Any court without a reservation is first-come, first-served. So someone without a card can still walk up to an open court. They just can't count on one being free.
What an hour on court costs, depending on who's holding the racket
The fee schedule puts the card's value in dollars. For a resident with a valid ID, the reservation itself is free.
| Player | Court fee | Can book in advance online? | Racket or ball rental |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resident with Resident ID | Free | Yes | Free |
| Guest of a resident | $5 per person, per hour | Through the resident | Not listed separately |
| Hotel guest with a valid hotel reservation | $15 per person, per hour | No | $5 per hour |
| Nonresident | $30 per person, per hour | No, in person only | $5 per hour |
Take a doubles game where one resident books and brings three friends: $15 for the hour. Four nonresidents playing the same hour would pay $120. The City supplies a limited number of tennis rackets and basketballs. They're free for residents and $5 an hour for nonresidents and hotel guests, with a $50 charge for anything lost, stolen, or damaged. There's also a refund path for someone who paid the nonresident rate but actually lives in the city. They need to bring proof of residency and apply for a Resident ID within five business days. The refund is processed only once the card is approved.
The fine print that shapes a visit
Everyone checks in with City staff before playing. The park sells tennis balls and bottled drinks. On court, athletic clothes are required, and private tennis lessons are not allowed. Spectators can't stand on the courts, the only food or drink allowed is water, and the courts are for tennis and basketball only.
The park-wide rules matter more for how you get there. Bicycles, skates, skateboards, and scooters are all banned inside the park, along with pets, glass, alcohol, grilling, amplified music, smoking, and fishing. Parking is limited, reserved for park users, and costs $5 an hour, or $3 at the discounted resident rate. A resident who lives within walking distance of the bay pays nothing to park and nothing for the court. Someone driving in from a few blocks north pays for the parking even before a guest fee.
The route along Collins is also changing. FDOT began a roadway project on June 30, 2026, covering State Road A1A/Collins Avenue from south of NE 163 Street to north of NE 178 Street. The job is estimated at about six months, which points to a finish around the end of the year. The work includes upgraded pedestrian signals, new curb ramps, signal retiming at every intersection, and new bicycle signals on both the east and west sides of Collins. Lane closures happen overnight. Single northbound lane closures start at 9 p.m., and the City says the schedule can change with the weather. If you play a late slot on the 5-to-10 p.m. court schedule, you may drive home through a work zone.
The rest of the Intracoastal chain is mid-repair
The sports park joins an existing system. Intracoastal Parks is a linear waterfront park made up of four parcels. Its southern end holds the fenced Dezer Family Playground. The City's own page notes there are no restrooms and no nearby public parking. The park is open sunrise to sunset. The playground is open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., except Thursdays, when it opens at 10 a.m.
That playground is currently missing its shade. After strong winds, the City took the canopy down for safety and said it would be replaced "as soon as possible." No date has been given.
Farther up the bay, Bella Vista Bay Park, listed at 500 Sunny Isles Boulevard, is closed for renovation until further notice. The City's capital projects page describes what's planned. The finished design includes public restrooms, a concession area, decking, and landscaping meant for ecological education and water sports. It also includes seawall work, mangrove mitigation, a walking path, and benches. Restrooms and a concession area are exactly what the Intracoastal Parks chain lacks now. Once Bella Vista reopens, the bay side will have a stop with those basics. The City hasn't published a reopening date, so for now it's a design on paper.
Meanwhile, at the ocean accesses
Some of the ocean-side entrances are getting harder to use. The Regalia Beach Access at 19575 Collins Avenue is closed until further notice because of beach erosion. The City says it has contacted Miami-Dade County for help. No sand placement date has been announced. The County's renourishment page still describes the Sunny Isles work from 2017 and 2018, so it doesn't say when new sand might arrive.
At Samson Oceanfront Park, new playground equipment goes in from Monday, October 5, through October 19. The small playground and the north walkway will close during the work, and the south walkway stays open.
Put the two sides together and the pattern is clear. Through mid-October, an ocean access point and an oceanfront playground are closed or partly closed, and the Regalia closure has no end date. Over the same stretch, the City's newest courts are open seven days a week on the bay. Mayor Larisa Svechin, speaking at the opening, framed the park as a place for "a game of tennis. Maybe basketball. Maybe you'll get in a workout, or just take a walk along the water and enjoy the view." Cultural and Community Services Director Colin Summers said the City was "excited to provide residents with more opportunities to participate in sports and fitness activities while enjoying the beautiful setting of our city." The City's release adds that its leaders have long recognized the need for more outdoor sports facilities.
An October calendar anchored in City parks
The fall event schedule also centers on the City's own parks and centers:
- National Night Out: Tuesday, October 6, 5 to 7 p.m., Pelican Community Park, 18115 North Bay Road.
- Family Movie Night: "Hotel Transylvania 2," Friday, October 9, 7:30 to 10 p.m., Gateway Park. Free.
- Beach cleanup: Saturday, October 10, 8 to 11 a.m., starting at Newport Fishing Pier, 16501 Collins Avenue. Free.
- Booogie by the Beach, "Jurassic on the Isles": October 23 and 24, 7 to 10 p.m., Pelican Community Park. Resident wristbands are $10.
- Senior Halloween Party: Friday, October 30, noon to 2 p.m., Gateway Center, 151 Sunny Isles Boulevard.
- Veterans Day Celebration: Wednesday, November 11, 10 a.m. to noon, Heritage Park, 19200 Collins Avenue, where the City plans to unveil the 2026 additions to the Veterans Wall.
The Booogie wristband works the same way as the courts. There's a resident price, and the card is how you prove you qualify. If your household hasn't applied for a Resident ID yet, the application is at sibfl.gov/residentid. For a doubles game with three guests, the card is the difference between $15 and $120 for the hour.
Where a building sits relative to the bay and the beach entrances matters more this fall than it did last spring. If you're thinking about how a home in Sunny Isles Beach fits your daily routine, from morning court time on the Intracoastal to which beach entrance is closest, Jorge Hidalgo can walk you through it building by building. Schedule a Confidential Consultation.
