Fort Lauderdale city officials halted plan to replace basketball courts on the beach after residents' push back

For nearly a year, Leo Lorenz and a group he helped create, called the Fort Lauderdale Beach Ballers, have been pushing back to save the basketball courts on Fort Lauderdale Beach.

"It's been really a large group effort because we've had many people in the city get together and back us," Lorenz said.

The city had planned to replace the courts with pickleball courts and build new basketball courts farther down the beach. The group felt like their demographic was being forced out and wanted to protect the historic courts, so they got loud.

"Because we had all the interest and the help from everybody getting involved, it's starting to work, and it's starting to pay off," Lorenz said.

The city listened and decided to change its plan.

"We regrouped, we heard the folks loud and clear that wanted to retain the basketball where it was," said Fort Lauderdale Commissioner Steven Glassman.

Glassman said the new plan is to keep the court in the same spot and upgrade it, as well as bring in new exercise equipment, lush landscaping, and add four pickleball courts just south of the basketball court on the sand. It is all part of a roughly $3 billion Bahia Mar redevelopment plan with luxury condos, a new hotel, and a marina makeover.

"It's going to be a beautifully activated little campus of activity that I think, for the most part, people should be really happy about. I think it's a win-win," Glassman said.

Glassman said the new plan is still being drawn up and will need approval from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and FWC, but he expects a green light.

CBS News Miami was the only station to cover the story, which Lorenz says brought another win.

"It's generated awareness of the court being out here, having a lot more people coming down and playing, and now we're getting larger groups of people coming out to play," said Lorenz.

Glassman said he expects a final vote on the plan at one of the next meetings in the coming weeks.