Pleasure Island volleyball players are eager to find new courts in time for summer

CAROLINA BEACH, NC (WWAY) — With warmer temperatures around the corner, many people are ready to get back to outdoor activities. 

But people on Pleasure Island are having a harder time doing so. Some volleyball players are trying to sort things out in time for the summer. 

WWAY spoke with Pleasure Island Volleyball.  

For the past several years they’ve used the volleyball courts at the Lazy Pirate Island Sports Grill. Now, they’re having to scope out more sand after learning the restaurant is making some changes. 

“We are now looking for a home,” Pleasure Island Volleyball Board Member Billy Brink said. 

Billy Brink is a board member for the Pleasure Island Volleyball Club. Now that the Lazy Pirate is repurposing some of the space that houses volleyball courts, he and other people are looking for another place to play. 

Brink said it is essential there be beach volleyball courts in the area and says the proposed location off of Cape Fear Blvd., in Carolina Beach, is a great choice.  

“It’s centrally located in the town and so it’ll be easily accessible by both residents of Carolina Beach but also the tourists that come to the boardwalk. The boardwalk is only a couple of blocks away,” Brink said. 

Parks and Recreation Director for the Town of Carolina Beach shared where the town stands currently in this process.  

“I am currently right now gathering quotes and I know Pleasure Island Volleyball Association is out there right now gathering quotes,” Town of Carolina Beach Parks and Recreation Director Eric Jelinski said. 

“We hope to have a handful of quotes available to us to review, compare, and go after. We’ve been looking at land and areas in Carolina Beach to place volleyball courts for several years and luckily, we were able to find a little area.”  

Jelinski said both Pleasure Island Volleyball and the Carolina Beach Community has been supportive in helping to fund this project that’s expected to play out just in time for this summer.  

Meanwhile, Brink said he is excited to get back in the sand and give others that same opportunity.  

“We’ve had a great run of running youth leagues. We’ve had 200+ youth come out and get introduced to the game of volleyball and about the same number of adults over the years,” Brink said. 

Last week, Carolina Beach Town Council discussed the volleyball courts. Billy Brink said council unanimously supported the idea of finding a new place to play.