January 29, 2026: St. Petersburg, FL : Ever play jai-alai in the snow? Perhaps in the Basque region on the mountains and all if your outside. But in central Florida? Highly doubtful.
That might come to an end as there is a 20% chance of snow flurries early Sunday morning, and that will be during the second day of the Scott King/Sunshine City League’s big annual event where 30 players from all over the USA compete. To make things even weirder, across the bridge in Tampa will be a Boston Bruins-Tampa Bay Lightning HOCKEY game played outdoors at Raymond James Stadium in front of 70,000 people. All the worries of the ice melting in what was called hockey’s biggest challenge ever will be greeted with temperatures in the upper 30s by the end of the game.
The last time it snowed in central Florida was in 1977, nearly 50 years ago and that is the only known time in recorded history it has snowed in the area. Playing jai-alai in the cold and extremely windy conditions is going to be tricky especially with 35mph winds Saturday, the first day of the event. However, the side and back wall will block out the NW winds and it might not be that bad.
The event starts at 10am with “free” admission and all are welcome. The cancha is all fixed up and ready to go. Special thanks to Scott King and Eric Lanctot for getting the repairs all done and to all those the helped out in the painting party. Donations are certainly welcome to help preserve our public court – the only one in the country! And always a special thanks to Paul Kubala and Tom “Corky” DeMint, Bill Foster and others to making it all happen 18 years ago!
JAM Arena to Open Doors with Jai-alai and Much More
Miami: January 28, 2026: The former Miami Jai-alai facility has sat dormant for many years, outside of a very short “season” of jai-alai played yearly before decoupling was approved nearly 5 years ago. The seats were literally falling apart; the old 1988 large TV sets were still showing the live game action in the lobby area with a cashier teller and a few betting machines. The courtside bar still had the Bud and Bud Light taps on the kegerator. Players easily outnumbered the spectators. I remember going one year on Opening Day and in the audience was me, Jesus, and Jeden. All three us loved the game like many of you reading this do . A far cry from the day over 15,000 fans crowded in there for a night performance just after Christmas..
When multibillionaire Phill Ruffin bought the property on December 3, 2018 they had some big plans. Yes, that Phil Ruffin. Good friends with Donald Trump. Owner of the Tresure Island Hotel and Circus Circus in Vegas, many hotel resorts, convenience stores, oil production, and the world’s largest manufacturer of hand trucks. One of the plans was to convert the jai-alai fronton into a Cirque du Soleil while running the bustling casino adjacent to it. Unfortunately,, the pandemic hit, and plans fizzled. Today, the casino looks gorgeous with a pizza parlor, live band stage and much more, but the fronton was falling apart and off limits to anyone to ventured over there.
When Magic City owners sold their property located a couple miles south of (now known as Magic City Casino) to an Indian Tribe, they had to move out by December 31, 2025. The Havenick family had operated the facility under “West Flagler Associates” as a dog track for over 71 years and was sold to the Alabama based Poarch Band of Creek Indians. Oddly, they went into the jai-alai business even though they didn’t have to.
Looking for a new home, they turned to the Miami Casino. The fronton was dormant while everything else had slot machine action and more going on daily. Scott Savin and company turned to Dan Licciardi, the GM and VP of Casino Miami. Dan has had a long history in jai-alai – and he was even involved in the purchase of the glass court for Magic City! A deal was worked out after Magic City had offers from Vegas and even Rhone Island (if I recall correctly) to move the World Jai-alai operations to their vacant Fronton.
A deal was reached and has been named the JAM Arena, short for Jai-alai Miami. It is undergoing a multi-million-dollar renovation and rebranding project that is designed for a new era and a modern consumer. The 1,500-seat arena will feature state-of-the-art audience amenities including VIP courtside seating and family-friendly sports challenge activations designed to create an immersive fan experience.
The jai-alai court will be 6 feet longer than the Magic City court and a new ball has been found that is similar to the Calder ja-alai ball. They will use the existing front and side walls and have added a new glass back wall that is fully installed. Management and players alike are very happy with it. Previous stories on this are located on this website. Jai-alai is returning the original fronton that is now 100 years old!
You can now purchase VIP courtside seats for $15 or for an additional $15 fans can upgrade their night with a “complimentary” beverage and “free” valet parking.
The public is only allowed in the building Friday nights for jai-alai. The very first day they will be open with live sports betting is Tuesday, February 10th . The first day you can watch live is Friday, February 13th at 7pm. The “Chargers” will play the “Cyclones”.
Jai-alai is not the only thing scheduled to be held there. Live bands, other sporting events and live comedy shows with the first one immediately following the jai-alai matches at 10pm. Whitney Cummings and the Big Baby Tour will take place. Seats are $79 and $99 with reserved seats on sale now.
Lets all support them and we wish them the best of luck!
St. Petersburg, FLA: January 16, 2026: America’s first and only public jai-alai cancha will be absolutely closed till further notice – at least till next Thursday, January the 22nd.
As reported to the Pelota Press by one of our contractors, Eric Lanctot, excellent progress was made on the front wall today and yesterday, but more concrete and masonry work will need to be done on Monday with pressure washing, caulking, and painting behind that. There appears to be a lot of work still to be done in the seriously bad area on the side wall, where big hunks of the wall vertically are missing. This is listed as a transition crack, and some work has been done on it today.
All the cells on the front wall were being filled in this afternoon. They can be noted on the home page of this site and shown first here in the photos.
Contractor Scott King is scheduled to do a sign off inspection on Thursday if all goes as planned.
Prior to Magic City Jai-Alai in 2018 and the subsequent creation of The World Jai-Alai League and of the Battle Court Jai-Alai team format most Americans who knew about Jai-Alai either remembered it from the opening credits of the ’80’s TV show “Miami Vice” or as a once exciting & unique sport described by their parents & grandparents.
The exact origins of the sport itself have been largely based on oral histories, but consistently centered on the “Basque Ball” (primarily handball) originating the Basque region of Spain & France sometime in the 15th Century.
When it comes to Jai-Alai in the United States it was long believed that what we now know as the sport of “Jai-Alai” (a ball caught & thrown using a wicker basket) was first introduced to Americans at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis Missouri for two months during “The Louisiana Purchase Exposition.” More in-depth research by Juan Zulaika, citing the translator-writer Asun Garikano uncovered now digitized documentation that the first professional Jai-Alai played in the United States occurred in San Francisco, CA in 1901.
References to “The Eder Jai” appear in “The San Francisco Call” in 1901 & 1902 which was published until merging with “The Post” in 1913. The facility is described as being in San Francisco’s Central Park. It was an open-air court measuring approximately 200 feet and was built at a reported cost of $35,000. 15 Basque players and a Player Manager, who also had played in Mexico City comprised the first roster. There were 4 matches a week “with the handling and speed of the ball fascinating spectators and provoking expressions of enthusiasm.” Individual entry was $1.00 with “boxed seating” selling for $10.00.
No additional references for this first Jai-Alai facility have been located and Jai-Alai is next described in the United States as part of the 1904 World’s Fair. Construction of the $190,000, steel & brick building began in 1903 with seating for 6,000. The Jai Alai Building was constructed at DeBaliviere Boulevard and Kingsbury Avenue in St. Louis, Missouri as a venue for the sport jai alai during 1904’s “Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Jai alai was played in the building for just over two months. The last game was played on July 24, 1904. The games were scheduled to resume on November 1, but the players never returned. Speculation was that the sport didn’t succeed in St. Louis because gambling wasn’t allowed. However, the Cuban promoters claimed that while spectators could bet on the games in their country, it had never been their intention to introduce betting in St. Louis. The building was later converted into a roller-skating rink and was perhaps best known as the popular “Winter Garden Ice Skating Rink” in the 1920s and 1930s. The building was demolished in 1964 to permit construction of a shopping center.
Berlin, Connecticut: Matt DiDominzio has announced he is hosting two tournaments coming up in the next few months.
The first one is Saturday, February 28 and Sunday March 1st. This event will feature a Partido Tournament. Players would play in only one of the two days and that would be for about two hours.
Contact Matt directly if interested in playing by mid-February. WHITE PANTS are required.
The second tournament is about ten weeks later. May 9-10th, again a Saturday and Sunday. This event will be a quinella style tournament where you will play with each partner. This is the nicest time of the year up there and the dogwoods are in full bloom in that week of May and a site to see.
More details to come as we get closer to the event.
Puryear Park to Close Thursday Thru Sunday This Week
St. Petersburg: January 12, 2026: After meetings today at the Puryear Park Jai alai Cancha, the much-needed work will commence this Thursday morning and last thru Sunday. The jai-alai cancha will be officially closed.
A company that specializes in concrete and masonry repair will be doing the work. They will be working on crack repairs, additional grinding, repairing the sidewall, joint and filling cells on the front wall. You can see the photos in a recent story of the work that is needed. Any donations to help the project is welcome by contacting Scott King. The court will then get repainted, so we should be in good shape cancha wise by the time the Scott King/Sunshine City Tournament takes place.
Our contractors are also working with the city to get resurfacing of the flooring, the screening, and sunshades. Also in the plans down the road are bleacher seating for our local season ticket holders and other visitors (like Brock who came by last week). Again, donations are encouraged to help make all this possible. The court is free to play on because it is a public court and the savings is considerable if you add up the totals spent at the two privately owned cancha’s.
World Jai-alai League Has New Pelota/ Grand Opening Friday, February 13th
January 12, 2025: The World Jai-alai League has issued an official press release regarding the grand opening of their 9th season to be played at Miami Casino – the former original jai-alai fronton.
I had announced that the season opens on Tuesday, February 10th and that is still the case. But the doors will not be open to let you in. It looks like the “only open on Friday night” rule is again in effect.
Instead, they will hold their official Grand Opening event on Friday the 13th at 7pm.
Comedian Whitney Cummings will follow the jai-alai performance with a headliner performance. Cummings has one of the most recognizable voices in comedy and will perform her successful “The Big Baby Tour”. She’s not only a comedian, but an actress, writer, producer, and a director. She was the creator and star of NBC’s “Whitney” and the co-creator and co-writer of the Emmy-nominated CBS series “2 Broke Girls”. She is also the host of the popular podcast “Good for You” and released her sixth stand-up special, “Mouthy”, a couple of years ago.
As we have announced in the past, the “new” JAM Arena will bring back a new version of jai-ala never seen before, combining the traditional jai- alai granite walls in the front and regular concrete side wall to go along with a new glass back wall installed near the serving line making the court 126 feet long as opposed to the old 176 feet or so that it was 100 years ago.
One of the biggest obstacles has been solved – they have a new ball designed that has been tested and approved by management. The newly designed ball – made from the same manufacturer as their Magic City ball in Spain– has been thoroughly tested and plays great. The new ball is made from much harder plastic. I’ll be curious how it sounds from hitting the front wall, but anything different then the old sound will
I did inquire about getting the old Magic City balls for Puryear Park, but they want to hold out for the season to make sure they hold up. Smart decision, because no one has an idea how well the harder wall will last out there. It’s a whole new ball game.
Scott King and Sunshine City Jai-alai group are hosting their 3rd annual tournament that starts on the last day of the month of January. All 30 spaces on the 3-group bracket are filled up, with a waiting list now forming.
A few players from Connecticut are coming, including Matt DiDomizio, who opened up this own “fronton” in Connecticut just a couple years after the St. Pete Cancha opened.
The format is the exact same as last years with the three groups (A,B and C) participating in doubles matches of a “pick your team” format. The group play will be similar to the World Cup Soccer event with group Partido games to 10 points. Every team plays every team in their group for a total of 4 games for every player. Winners advance, with the “C” group winner advancing to play in the finals on Sunday, February 1st. Semi finals are to 12 points, and the finals consist of two Partido to 10 points with a 5-poiinter tiebreaker. The Singles tournament are to 6 points, single elimination depending on weather and time.
No starting time has been announced for the Saturday or Sunday dates yet, but assuming around 10 am on Saturday and 11am or12 noon on Sunday. Projections on the weather are too far out at this time.
Same rules as last year…..
No two wall serves.
Two over-serves allowed per Partido.
Frontcourt receiver must remain in the serve box until the ball is released.
Non-integrity rules are out – an over serve and you lose. Tipped balls not played. A ball nipping the overhead screen is not allowed. A slip while serving will result in a whistle.
No spectator seating inside the court for everyone’s safety. That includes dogs.
I’ve ordered eight large trophies that will be gold and black in color vs. last year’s green and gold stripe. They are 18” tall with them going to the winners and runners-up of the front and backcourters of the Doubles, the first and second place of the singles event, and the winners of the “B” level players. In addition, the winning players in doubles will get a surprise gift that is now on the way from Spain that was ordered by Scott King.
Last year, Scott King won the doubles event with TB Matt – filling in as a sub. He was not going to play until just before post time when he needed to fill in at the last moment. He was not going to play this year but has opted to play with Ray Haluska to fill out the brackets. Belota will be a ref and Adam is now going to be a reserve as he came off the IL list several months earlier than expected and played well.
Here are the brackets as of 01/12/26 (Will Update if changes are made)
Puryear Park Jai alai Interior Repairs Likely Next Week
January 10, 2026: The St. Petersburg Cancha will likely be closed for a few days next week for much needed renovations.
The front and side walls are getting chipped and dented asway as well as the flooring up front, making it occasionally dangerous as balls end of flying all over the place unpredictably. When you have some hard throwers like RG3 (Puryear Parks latest regular star player, Wayne Pattie (Milford, Miami pro considered to be the hardest thrower today), and Mark Butler (brother of Chuck Butler and Daniel Love) and Belota (Orlando, Calder) whipping flames well over 110 mph with a heavy Matt 151 ball, damage is certain to happen. But this is especially true in the area where the racquetball court wall was torn down to expand the court a few years ago.
By looking at the photos, you can notice the area where the wall was – adjacent to the side wall and the flooring where the wall went across the cancha, is all crumbling apart and getting worse by the day.
On Monday, a special contracting crew of engineers will assess the damage and hopefully be able to perform work needed on Tuesday and Wednesday. If that is completed by then, painting on the court would commence immediately afterwards – likely on Thursday and Friday. Scott King is looking for volunteers to help paint. In a previous story, the exterior work was done a couple weeks ago with a new parking lot underway adjacent to the cancha’s parking lot.
This is all subject to change due to the contractors’ schedules, but as of now, this is the plan. As usual, we will keep you posted.
Usually, maintenance is done on the court this time of the year to get prepared for the annual Scott King/Sunshine City Tournament January 31st and February 1. This is also Gasparilla weekend in Tampa where about 500,000 people gather for the annual pirate invasion and parade, one of the largest in North America. On Sunday evening, the Stadium Series of Hockey will be played at Raymond James stadium in front of 68,000 fans with the Boston Bruins taking on the Tampa Bay Lightning. Connecticut Amateur Fronton owner Matt DiDomizio will be playing in the tournament and attending the hockey game. He’s a huge Bruins fan and these outdoor games a spectacle where fans travel from all over to attend them. Playing in Tampa heat is going to be an issue, but a tent will cover the ice and be removed just before the game starts. Matt’s daughter Katie is also going to the game with her husband.
January 7, 2026: Later this week, the Pelota Press will be running a 13-part series of Blogs that appeared on the World Jai-alai League website this past year.
The blogs were written by Stu Neiman for the WJAL and are based solely on his opinion. The Pelota Press has received permission to run the series.
After an incredible 2.5 year run of stories by Marty Fleisman, it is time for another series of stories from upper management to share us jai-alai fans some unknown information. While Stu’s Blogs are not an all “behind the scenes” story like Marty’s, they are mostly on facts and the history of jai-alai and how Frontons came into existence. You will learn a lot from this series if you haven’t already seen it.
Part one of the 13 will start later this week and run once a week.
