At 96th Street Park on Bay Drive, the multipurpose field that hosts flag football on Monday and Wednesday afternoons is new sod. It was laid in late summer, a few weeks before the first whistle. The basketball courts have a new surface. The tennis-court lights that dimmed evening play have been repaired. Very little of this was announced to the public. Most of it shows up in a few lines of the Town Manager's monthly reports.
Surfside's recreation year has a hard turnover in early autumn. Camp wears the field down, registration opens, leagues begin, and the repairs have to fit in the weeks between. The field and courts were ready for the first week of leagues, while the pool tile and a new restroom at Hawthorne Tot Lot are still waiting on shipments.
The Gap Between Camp and Leagues
The town's vending machine counts give a rough measure of how busy the parks are. The tally covers both the Community Center and 96th Street Park. In August 2026, those machines sold 618 ice creams, the highest monthly figure of the year. In September 2026 they sold 190. Summer use runs hard right up to the end, and then it falls off sharply.
The field's repair ran on that timeline:
- August 24. Fall youth athletics and tennis registration opened for residents. Nonresidents followed on September 8.
- August 11 report. The multipurpose field was being fully resodded for fall sports, and staff planned to monitor it before a safe reopening.
- September 3 report. The field was described as completely resodded. That same night the Commission ratified $32,240.65 for the BrightView Landscape Services work as an after-the-fact expense paid from fiscal 2026 grounds maintenance funds. The staff memo said the turf had deteriorated after heavy summer and camp use, and the new sod was meant to give fall and winter programming a safe surface.
- October 5 and 6. Flag football, soccer and basketball started at 96th Street Park.
The ratification is the useful detail. The town authorized the work first, because of the field's condition and the approaching fall season, and the Commission approved the spending afterward.
The Rest of Bay Drive
The courts were handled with the same goal. The October 13 Town Manager report describes the basketball resurfacing this way:
"This project helped prepare the courts for the new fiscal year and upcoming programming, ensuring they are ready for continued community use and activities."
The town's parks information page lists the basketball courts at 96th Street Park, open 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. The same report says the tennis-court lighting was repaired to improve visibility for evening use. Evening hours matter more as fall goes on. The Tennis Center and pickleball courts are open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily by reservation, and sunset arrives earlier every week.
Fall tennis lessons began the same week as the leagues. Weekday sessions run from October 5 or 6 through December 16 or 17, and Saturday sessions run October 10 through December 19. Groups go from Pee Wee for ages 4 and 5 up to Varsity for ages 15 and 16, with girls' groups and adult clinics as well. Listed session fees range from $120 to $340 depending on the program and residency. Under the town's Tennis Center page, residents can still use the courts for free play, and a reservation guarantees a time slot.
The Pool Stays Open While the Work Goes On
At the Community Center, 9301 Collins Avenue, the town could not shut the pool for a season, so it scheduled the work in pieces.
The machinery came first. The August 11 Commission packet recommended about $83,000 to replace pumps, motors and related equipment for the main pool, the activity pool and the spa. The memo said three units had reached the end of their life and their parts were discontinued. The spa blower replacement was finished on Friday, August 21, 2026.
The tile came next. The Commission awarded the Community Center pool deck tile replacement to PIF Construction Group under Resolution 2026-3522. The September 3 report said the job would keep the pool's S-shaped design and move section by section so the pool could stay open. This is where the schedule slipped. As of the October 13 report, the tiles were delayed and in transit, expected later in October, and work would begin when they arrived. The town still expected to finish in October 2026. If you swim this week, you may see crews working on one section of the deck while the rest stays open.
Pool hours change too. The town adjusts them monthly to make the most of daylight, and the pool information page shows evening hours getting shorter as November starts:
| Session | October | November |
|---|---|---|
| Lap swimming | 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. | 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
| Recreational swimming | 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. | 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. |
Lap swimming requires registration during all open hours, and lap lanes are booked through the same page. The fall aquatics session at the Community Center runs October through December, with children's swim classes, Aqua Zumba and adult swimming.
The One Project Without a Date
The other project that depends on a delivery is at Hawthorne Tot Lot, which is open daily from 8 a.m. to sunset. Resolution 2026-3586, adopted in October, approved the purchase of one automated, self-cleaning prefabricated restroom from MRC Recreation and Urben Blu for no more than $322,000.
The September 22 quote shows where the money goes:
- $250,000 for the unit
- $15,000 for air conditioning
- $15,000 for five years of SIM and software support
- $13,500 for siding
- $13,500 for installation supervision, testing and training
- $10,000 for Florida certification
- $15,000 for freight, less a $10,000 discount
The quote leaves out crane rental, site preparation and the water, sewer and electrical connections, so the $322,000 figure is not the full cost of the project. It gives no delivery date, says shipping dates are not guaranteed, and describes a pre-construction site visit followed by three days of on-site setup and testing. Like the pool tile, it will be ready when the shipment arrives.
What Fills the Refreshed Park in November
The new sod and the repaired lights get a busy month:
- Saturdays and Sundays, 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The Surfside Farmers Market is running its 2026–27 season at the Surfside side of the 96th Street beach entrance through May 29, 2027.
- Saturday, November 7. The "Under the Stars" movie night shows Space Jam at 96th Street Park. The flyer lists a 7 p.m. start and the October 13 Town Manager report says 7:30 p.m., so check the event flyer before you set out.
- Wednesday, November 11, 10 a.m. The Veterans Day Ceremony takes place at Veterans Park, 8750 Collins Avenue.
- Through December 16 and 17. Flag football continues Mondays and Wednesdays for ages 5 to 12. Basketball runs Tuesdays and Thursdays for ages 5 to 12, and soccer runs Tuesdays and Thursdays for ages 4 to 12.
The kayak launch and playground beside the field stay open from 8 a.m. to sunset, as do Paws Up Dog Park and Flamingo Garden Park. Those closing times move earlier as the days get shorter. The leagues end in mid-December, so the field gets its next break then, before the cycle begins again.
Knowing how the town's parks, pool and courts run through the year can shape which block suits your household best. If you are thinking about a home within walking distance of 96th Street Park or the Community Center, The Davoudpour Team can talk you through how those amenities fit into everyday life in Surfside. Schedule a Consultation.
