As pickleball’s popularity explodes, Lexington rushes to build more courts

Beth Musgrave
·3 min read
2

When the weather is good — and even not so good — the pickleball courts at Kirklevington Park are packed.

The 12 hard courts with lights for night play are a mecca for experienced and new players to the growing racket sport that surged in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The courts are full every weekday morning,” said Dan Ewing, president of the Kentucky Pickleball Association, a nonprofit working to expand the sport. “Every weekday evening there will be a line of people waiting for the next game at each of the four gates, and people stay until the lights turn off at 11:00 pm. Saturday and Sunday mornings are even busier.”

Thanks to $2.9 million in federal coronavirus relief money, commonly called American Rescue Plan Act funding, Lexington is on a pickleball and tennis court building binge.

In addition to new courts, older courts are being rebuilt. Some of the upcoming projects include:

  • Tennis courts will be rebuilt and restored at Belleau Woods, Constitution, Mount Tabor, Shillito, and Woodland parks

  • Pickleball courts will be constructed at Constitution, Meadowbrook, Picadome, River Hill, Shillito, and the new Cardinal Run Park North

  • Courts at Belleau Woods and Mount Tabor parks will be double-striped for use by both sports

Upon completion, there will be tennis courts in 15 public parks and pickleball courts in 13 public parks. People can keep track of when those courts will open by going to lexingtonky.gov/tennis or lexingtonky.gov/pickleball.

The timeline for completion varies, but the parks department hopes to have much of the work completed by late fall or summer 2024, depending on weather conditions and contractor availability. Color coating of courts can only be done in the warmer summer months, which also determines when and how the new and rebuilt courts can be built, parks officials said.

The city is spending more than $24 million in federal coronavirus relief money on parks, including building Cardinal Run North, a new public park off Parkers Mill Road. That 137-acre park may open as early as 2024.

Those public pickleball courts are needed now, Ewing said.

“Sadly, we have people getting frustrated and leaving because they can’t get into a game,” Ewing said of the Kirklevington courts.

Cities across Kentucky and the country are also scrambling to keep up with the explosion in popularity of the sport. According to USA Pickleball, a trade group, approximately 130 new pickleball locations on average are added each month.

Ewing estimates there are thousands of pickleball players in Lexington alone.

One of the reasons for its popularity is it’s a very social sport. People meet playing the game. That’s why the city’s plans to add just two courts at various parks around town may not decrease the number of people playing at Kirklevington. It would have been preferable to add more courts at Kirklevington but there’s no space for additional courts there, Ewing said.

Monica Conrad, director of Lexington Parks and Recreation, said people have told the department that tennis and pickleball courts are needed throughout Lexington.

“These sports are such excellent ways for people to stay active and socialize,” said Conrad. “As we prioritized neighborhood infrastructure improvements in Lexington, tennis and pickleball courts were regularly identified as needing improvement or expansion. Our team is working hard to meet those needs, and to offer many locations for people to enjoy both sports at our amazing local parks.”