CORONADO ISLAND
MARRIOTT RESORT & SPA
Where the Only Thing More Popular
Than Pickleball is the View
I
n the Southwest corner of California, outside of San
Diego, where the weather is perfect year-round,
is the tiny island of Coronado. Half naval base,
half downtown oceanfront paradise with beaches
voted best in the world, this bustling tourist and
servicemember hub is home to several hotels that
house visitors year in and year out.
Recently, the management of Coronado Island Marriott
Resort & Spa learned just how popular pickleball has
become and quickly adopted it into their recreation
programming for guests as well as the community.
Nusrat Mirza, general manager of Coronado Island
Marriott Resort & Spa, says if it wasn’t for meeting up
with some of the locals on the island, he easily could have
missed adding pickleball to the resort’s athletic rotation.
“The island itself is the home of the U.S. Navy Seals
and most of the population is comprised of retired Naval
officers,” Mirza says.
52
TO SUBSCRIBE CALL 888.308.3720 OR GO TO THEPICKLEBALLMAG.COM
“In 2013, I came to the resort, which has 300 rooms,
38 cottages, three pools and a recreation center with six
tennis courts that were built in 1989, above ground, with
parking underneath.”
A year after Mirza joined the resort, he became aware
of structural problems with the tennis courts, so he
closed them. He then approached the owners of the hotel
and convinced them it was not only time to renovate and
remodel the courts, but the entire resort. The plan was
to recreate a wellness center and scale back the tennis
courts to add basketball courts. That’s when Mirza met
with some locals on the island who suggested converting
the tennis courts into pickleball courts.
“The locals told me how popular pickleball was at the
local high schools and public tennis courts,” he explains.
“After listening, I learned more about pickleball and saw
an opportunity here. So we changed the plans to include
three tennis courts and the fourth for four permanent
pickleball courts.”