If you like playing pickleball, you’ll love this news.
At its May 25 meeting, Huntsville council approved four dedicated pickleball courts that would take up an area of 121ft x 61ft at McCulley Robertson Recreation Park at a cost of about $160,000.
Staff recommended that the funds for the courts come from a $466,000 cash-in-lieu of parkland reserve, funds which are generated from development.
According to a staff report authored by director of operations and protective services Steve Hernen and manager of parks and cemeteries Colleen MacDonald, there are roughly 135 active pickleball players in Huntsville.
The game, which is a combination of tennis, badminton, and table tennis, is played on a badminton-sized court with a solid smooth surface. Players use a wiffle ball about the size of a tennis ball and a short-handled paddle larger than a ping pong paddle.
In 2020, council heard from a delegation of pickleball players who asked that the municipality accommodate their needs. They suggested the Meadow Park tennis courts, which was opposed by community tennis players. Staff determined that McCulley would probably be the best fit. On May 4, 2021, Huntsville Mayor Karin Terziano and Councillor Jonathan Wiebe held an informal meeting with pickleball players to determine where the courts could be located on the McCulley grounds.
The group favoured the north side of Williams Street and requested that six courts be considered with room to expand to 12 when the need arises. But Hernen told council that the initial request was for four courts, which is the reason four were being recommended by staff in its report. He also told council that further examination is required in order to determine whether more than six courts could fit in that location, and noted that there are other courts in the community, and more are expected to come online.
“We thought that the four pickleball courts would add to the complement of everything that’s out there,” Hernen said. “In the next year or two we’re going to have probably 12, 13 courts. That’s why we felt comfortable going with the recommendation of four,” he said, adding that the decision is ultimately up to council.
The Town is currently undergoing public engagement as part of its Community Services Master Plan, which will help it determine the needs of the community now and into the future. But according to the staff report, staff and council “have heard from many individuals on the subject of pickleball and feel the need to support the project prior to receiving the final Community Services Master Plan and its recommendations.”
Discussions ensued about the number of courts, but in the end, the majority of council went with staff’s recommendation for four.
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I think that is wonderful that pickleball courts are going out at McCulley Robertson Recreation Park. It is a great sport for all ages, seniors included. Hopefully we will get some teams going to the next OSGA 55+ Senior Games!
One thing that would be nice to see out there would be a playground for young children. There are numerous families, who play baseball, who bring young children to their games. It certainly would be nice for them to have somewhere to play rather than around the bleachers.
While the article quoted 135 players, I am absolutely sure there are many more pickle ballers out there than that. My wife and I would make at least 2 more if there were more convenient places to play. Kudos to the town for planning ahead. This is a prime retirement community and more options for physical activity in that age group (or any other age group, for that matter) can never be a bad thing.
Yes Jamie you are absolutely correct ,a great opportunity to provide a multi functional and seasonal venue . WOW!! 135 pickle ballers less than 1% of Huntsville population receive this treatment. Apparently there was a petition circulating early in the pandemic supporting the need for an outdoor rink which generated approximately 600 signatures ( plus family members ) there appears to be a greater need for an outdoor rink.. So yes let’s build these courts and incorporate that outdoor rink .
I think this is great because those courts can be flooded in the winter and used for MUCH needed outdoor rinks. I assume that these will be used for more than pickleball? Does this mean the courts in Jack Bionda won’t be used anymore?
Thanks to everyone involved with the decision to have designated Pickleball courts in Huntsville. It is a fast growing sport and there is so much potential for growth in Huntsville.