Racquetball hall of famers planning to build courts on Hilton Head
Two of the best racquetball players in the history of the sport are looking to carve out a niche in Hilton Head Island's tennis-rich community.
Long-time Hilton Head residents Mike Ray and Ruben Gonzalez each spent time atop racquetball's world player rankings during professional careers that earned them spots in the sport's hall of fame.
But back home on the island, the former pros don't have anywhere to play or teach the sport on to a new generation of young players, Ray said.
Now the pair are looking to build a state-of-the-art racquetball facility to put the sport in the same limelight of the island's surging pickleball phenomenon, he said.
"We really have no place to play or do lessons or clinics or exhibitions or anything in the sport," Ray said this week. "Basically all the (racquetball) courts are gone from the island.
"We could bring the best in the world here very easily," he said, noting his and Gonzalez's extensive network of pros and tournaments. "Sometimes the easiest way to get people excited about a sport is to see the best there is. We're a great area for that. We need that stuff here."
With the help of an investor in Atlanta, Ray and Gonzalez are eyeing the Sunshine House daycare on Arrow Road as a possible location for a new facility.
Preliminary plans would include four total indoor courts with a combination of back and side glass, a "main stadium court" with permanent bleacher seating, a lounge area and locker rooms, according to a proposal submitted for town review this month.
Another indoor court would be used as a "flex court" that could be set up for table tennis, pickleball or badminton. Three-walled courts could be added to the outside of the building, too, the plans include.
The trio has not purchased any property for the project yet, but Ray is optimistic their plan will move forward soon, he said.
Ray has previously pitched town leaders a plan to add racquetball facilities to the Chaplin Park, he and town councilwoman Kim Likins recalled. But the town would not be able to contribute for several years, and that's too long to wait, he said.
The new plans will not include any financial support from the town, but it's likely to find the excitement of many town leaders, Likins said Wednesday. Likins' husband is an enthusiastic player himself, who "puts up a heck of a fight" against the former champions, Ray laughed.
Likins has long advocated for the town to add racquetball and pickleball facilities to its parks, and she often hears from island residents forced to make long drives to play, she added.
Ray and Gonzalez frequently play at the courts at the Burton Wells Recreation Center or in Savannah. The few racquetball courts the island did have closed years ago, Ray said.
"I'll do whatever I can to support the proposal," Likins said. "I think the community would really embrace it."
Ray hopes the facility could open the sport to a wider audience and attract small tournaments to the island.
"I hope we can do this. I've got great people who believe in this," Ray said. "Hilton head's a great place for something (like) this."
Follow reporter Zach Murdock on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Zach and on Facebook at facebook.com/IPBGZach.
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- $1.2 million rowing center opens on Hilton Head Island, Dec. 1, 2014
This story was originally published January 7, 2016 at 5:13 PM with the headline "Racquetball hall of famers planning to build courts on Hilton Head."