Pickleball Championship Expands Sponsor Partnership

Minto has expanded its three-year partnership with the US Open Pickleball Championships (USOPC). Minto was title sponsor of the inaugural USOPC event in 2016, and has continued as title sponsor of the annual event, including the 2019 Minto US Open Pickleball Championships Powered by Margaritaville that takes place at East Naples Community Park from April 27 to May 4, 2019.

Minto now is partnering with the USOPC to present a world-class pickleball instruction program for the residents of The Isles of Collier Preserve, a master-planned community by Minto in Naples. According to Minto President Mike Belmont, "As Minto continues our partnership with the USOPC, we are pleased to announce that the Isles of Collier Preserve is the first residential community to present a US Open Pickleball Academy program exclusively for residents. Minto anticipated the growing popularity of pickleball based on feedback from our homeowners, and we have included pickleball courts in all of our new communities, including Latitude Margaritaville Daytona Beach and Latitude Margaritaville Hilton Head."

The introduction of the US Open Pickleball Academy program coincided with the Nov. 10 opening of four additional pickleball courts and four additional tennis courts at The Isles of Collier Preserve. The community now has eight courts for each sport to better accommodate the community's growing number of racket game enthusiasts. The community has many avid pickleball players, and the number of residents playing the game continues to grow.

US Open Pickleball Academy representative Nancy Robertson is running the program at The Isles of Collier Preserve. It will include beginner lessons, private lessons, small group lessons and group clinics. Robertson is a three-time US Open Champion and International Pickleball Teaching Professional Association certified instructor.

According to USOPC founder and President Terri Graham, "Minto came on board for the inaugural US Open Pickleball Championships in 2016. In 2017, Margaritaville Holdings, Minto's partner in the development of Latitude Margaritaville communities, also joined us as a sponsor. The Isles of Collier Preserve is next door to East Naples Park where the USOPC is held. We always have many Isles of Collier Preserve fans at the event. We are pleased that Minto is growing our partnership by inviting the US Open Pickleball Academy to present this program for The Isles of Collier Preserve residents."

Pickleball is considered to be America's fastest growing sport. It is a racquet sport that combines elements of badminton, tennis and table tennis. Two to four players use solid paddles made of wood or composite materials to hit a perforated polymer ball, similar to a wiffle ball, over a net.

The Isles of Collier Preserve is bordered by the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Naples Botanical Garden and Dollar Bay. More than 1,300 acres of the community's 2,400 acres are dedicated to natural habitat and nature preserves connected by a network of recreational trails, nature observation stations, bike paths and waterways for kayaking and paddleboarding.

In addition to the pickleball and tennis courts, amenities at The Isles Club include a fitness center, social room, resort-style zero entry swimming pool, separate lap pool, beach area with cabanas, kayak launch and event courtyard. The new Overlook Bar & Grill will open early next year.

Minto offers 43 energy-efficient home designs at The Isles of Collier Preserve. Selections include coach homes, villas, and single-family homes priced ranging from the mid-$300s to over $1.5 million. Sixteen fully furnished models include three coach home models, four one-story villa models and nine single-family home models.

In addition to Minto's home selections, Stock Signature Homes recently acquired an additional 180 home sites in the community. Stock has introduced its new Cottonwood Collection of luxurious classic coastal living homes on 76-foot home sites. Base home pricing starts in the mid-$600s, and home including lot base pricing starts in the $780s. Stock is building four models from the collection: the Burlington, Covington, Livia and Madison II.

Minto developed The Isles of Collier Preserve using its own funding sources, electing not to use Community Development District (CDD) funds, and saving homeowners at The Isles of Collier Preserve thousands of dollars in annual assessments.

The Isles of Collier Preserve is four miles east of downtown Naples on U.S. 41 East. The Discovery Sales Center is open daily. Visit MintoUSA.com.

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