City adds pickleball at MLK Jr. Center
Apr. 14—LENOIR — City of Lenoir Parks and Recreation staff have added three indoor pickleball courts at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center. Lenoir now has six indoor and four outdoor pickleball courts for residents and visitors.
Parks and Recreation Director Phil Harper said that striping the three new courts at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center was pretty easy, and it brings more activities to the facility.
"All we had to do was stripe the courts in the gym, and buy three more nets. Now we have one more sport people can play here at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center," Harper said. "We have a group planning to play here on Thursdays. It's always good to get more people using our recreation facilities."
In addition to the courts at the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, there are three indoor courts and four outdoor pickleball courts at Mulberry Recreation Center. People can play on the outdoor courts anytime from dawn until the park lights are turned off. The indoor pickleball courts at Mulberry Recreation are available Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
"Having more courts means more people have the chance to play," said Harper.
Pickleball combines elements of tennis, badminton and ping-pong. It can be played indoors or outdoors on a badminton-sized court and a slightly modified tennis net. Pickleball is played with a paddle and a plastic ball with holes, and can be played as doubles or singles. To learn more about pickleball, visit usapickleball.org.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Center is located at 313 Greenhaven Dr. NW. The center offers a lighted baseball/softball field, indoor and outdoor basketball courts, club room, game room, lounge, kitchen, computer lab, exercise room, gymnasium, playground, lighted shuffleboard courts, social hall, lighted tennis courts, and a weight room. The center is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m to 8 p.m. and Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
