After pickleball players showed up in droves at government meetings and said their courts were constantly overcrowded, six new ones are open at Southfield Park, bringing the total to 15.
Wasatch County Parks and Recreation Director Tom Bonner said they’re already bringing out more players.
“The second we opened those things, they were chock full,” he said. “It's just a sport that has taken off, and it's growing like wildfire still. They're getting new people on a daily basis that are taking it up. So, I see us building more courts in the future.”
Like the rest of the park on the west side of Heber, the new courts are open to the public from dusk until dawn.
Local governments pledged money to the project on the condition the Heber Valley Pickleball Club contributed $80,000, which it did. Heber City and Midway each gave $40,000, and Wasatch County paid $180,000.
Due to rising construction costs, Bonner said the project cost $340,000, after the original estimate was $275,000. Wasatch County absorbed the extra cost.
“The county council at the time asked for the pickleball club to put some skin in the game, and we went even further and got the cities involved,” Bonner said. “At the end of the day, we raised the money in less than six months, put the bid out and were playing pickleball down there as of last Wednesday. So, the collaboration between the government entities and private citizens was amazing to see.”
Southfield Park and the new pickleball courts are located at 895 West 100 South on the western boundary of Heber City.
