Sellersburg starts construction on new Pickleball Courts

Erik Hackman, The Evening News and the Tribune, Jeffersonville, Ind.
·2 min read

Jun. 9—SELLERSBURG — Pickleball courts are being installed at Mosley Park in Sellersburg as a way to bring attractions to the residents of the town.

Since the popularity of the sport rose after the pandemic, the town wanted a place for the pickleball community in Sellersburg to have so players do not have to travel to find a court.

Before, players had to go to areas such as New Albany, Jeffersonville and Louisville to play.

"This kind of came about, oddly enough through conversations with the Federal Land and Water Conservation grant project that we're doing," said Charlie Smith, Sellersburg town manager.

When they first received the grant, they were going to use the money for the splash pad and for more projects, but because the pandemic caused prices to increase they were not able to use the money for all the projects they had planned and decided to install two pickleball courts.

For now, the town is only installing two courts, but if the popularity rises and there is a demand for more they will look into adding more, Smith said.

During the time the sport was gaining popularity, the town had residents reaching out to them asking for a court to be installed. After some thought, the town thought that Mosley Park would be the best spot to place the courts.

"We're doing it in-house currently... it might take a little bit longer for us to do it in-house because we're not trying to add cost outside of a budget season," Smith said. "We do want to be able to provide and get this done quickly."

The town is hoping to get this project completed by mid to late summer so residents can play as soon as possible.

"We've kind of started on some of the excavation work and framing up," Smith said. "We met with the vendor to supply the recommended coatings for the court and what kind of preparations we need to do."

Within the next couple of weeks they will start removing old concrete slabs and replace them with a new asphalt surface. Then they will add the proper coating for the court.

Once installed, players will have to bring their own equipment to play because the town will not provide any at the courts.

The town hopes the pickleball community in Sellersburg will use the courts.

"It's an exciting new trend that I don't think is age-restricted," Smith said. "We have so many things in and around the community that are geared towards children... this is one of those shared (between children and adults) activities that is hopefully welcomed by the community."