The Athens Arts, Parks and Recreation Department’s, or APRD’s, request for City Council to allocate $250,000 for the construction of new tennis and pickleball courts was referred back to the City and Safety Services Committee, or CSSC, due to an increase in the expected costs, but the project is still underway.
The project currently includes the construction of two tennis courts and four pickleball courts. The construction of the tennis and pickleball courts was originally expected to cost $250,000, but during the March 7 City Council meeting, Athens City Service Safety director Andy Stone announced the total cost would increase to an estimated $375,000.
The increased cost estimate was due to the amount of groundwork and preparation that would need to be done at the building site in consideration, which is located west of East Park Drive, Stone said. Inflation of construction goods and services also played a role in the estimate’s increase.
After the updated estimate was shared with members of City Council, it was referred back to the CSSC for further consideration.
Micah McCarey, D-At Large, introduced the original ordinance for the pickleball and tennis courts during the Feb. 21 council meeting. Despite his approval of the original construction price estimate of $250,000, the increased cost convinced McCarey to support referring the ordinance back to the CSSC.
“When you have so many community members with different interests and thoughts on what should be prioritized, it's a balancing act,” McCarey said. “I think it would be really disappointing to a lot of people if we put all of our resources into pickleball and didn't have enough for repairs to tennis courts, for example.”
The APRD is now reevaluating the original plans to find options that would decrease the price estimate.
Currently, there is not a set location for the courts, Katharine Ann Jordan, the director of the APRD, said. However, the land located on East Park Drive would have the most space for a number of tennis and pickleball courts.
The exact configuration of the courts may change if the APRD advisory board decides a smaller number of courts would be the best option to decrease costs, Jordan said.
The construction of the pickleball courts would allow for more recreational activities for people of all ages, Greg Lavelle, the U.S. pickleball district ambassador of Southern Ohio, said.
“Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the United States, and we currently have no dedicated outdoor pickleball courts, other than the two that are painted on the very old and decrepit tennis courts behind the Rec Center,” Lavelle said. “To build new pickleball courts that are dedicated for (pickleball) and not shared on a tennis court would be absolutely wonderful.”
Ohio University has a total of eight pickleball courts painted on the indoor and outdoor tennis courts, which community members sometimes use. However, players would like the city of Athens to recognize the recreational and financial benefits pickleball has to offer.
“There's a lot of small towns and medium-sized towns that are cashing in on the explosion of pickleball, and they're hosting tournaments,” Woodser Rouse, a local pickleball player, said. “In order to be a part of that type of scene, at any point in the future, Athens would definitely have to have some dedicated court space that would accommodate an event like that.”
Rouse said he hopes the city will account for the growing number of pickleball players in the community when they decide on the final plans for the courts.
The city is aware of the pickleball community’s anticipation for the courts and is committed to seeing it through, Stone said.
Although plans are still up in the air as to the number of courts and their location, Stone said local pickleball players may be able to use the new courts in the spring of 2023.
