Bocce Courts Get Upgrade

The long wait is over for those who enjoy playing bocce at Mackle Park. 

Work was recently completed to refurbish the facility’s four bocce courts, which included the much-needed installation of new turf, leveling one court’s playing surface, new bocce ball holders, and more. “Seeing the $46,600 project become a reality is a dream come true,” said Peter Pareene of the Charles J. Pineno Marco Island Bocce League. He said the league has been requesting the city renovate the courts for seven or eight years. 

“We're very, very, very excited,” said Pareene. “When I first started approaching the city, people, even my friends, said, ‘It's not going to happen.’ They kept saying they didn't believe it, you know? But I just kept hounding the councilmen.”

Over the last few years, the city had hired contractors to level one court, where the unevenness dramatically affected play, as had the deteriorating surface of all four courts. However, those efforts failed to correct the problem, explained Pareene.

“People always complained about it,” he said of the court that needed leveling the most. “Nobody wanted to play on it.”

The work was funded by private donations, including an April donation of $40,000 from Luigi Carvelli of the Carvelli Restaurant Group, owners of four restaurants on the island: DaVinci’s Ristoranté, Marco Prime Steaks and Seafood, The Oyster Society and the Snook Inn. Another $10,000 came from the estate of Pineno, the league’s founder, who passed away in 2021. In addition, the Italian American Society of Marco Island also donated $2,000.

Sunshine Paving and Decorative Concrete of Hudson, Fl., is the contractor for the project. 

Pareene said the courts receive heavy use just from the Pineno league, with its roughly 170 players, not to mention the community’s other bocce leagues. “There are hundreds of people that play bocce,” he added. “So they squeeze them all in during the week, at different hours. We even play in the evening. So the courts are used, believe me.”

Marco City Councilman Darren Palumbo’s support for the project was key to making it happen, said Pareene, who credited him with suggesting the league get estimates and arranging the Carvelli Group donation.  “He's unbelievable,” said Pareene. “He is a genuine person. He does what he says he's going to do.”

He also praised the Carvelli Group for its support.  “Palumbo and Luigi. If it wasn't for those guys, who knows where we'd be.”

For more information about the Charles J. Pineno Marco Island Bocce League, visit www.marcoislandbocceleague.com/index.html . Mackle Park is located at 1361 Andalusia Terrace. For more information, visit www.cityofmarcoisland.com/parksrec/page/frank-e-mackle-park .