The PC MARC’s indoor bubble is the go-to spot to play tennis and pickleball when snow starts to fall in the Wasatch Back.
Historically a tennis facility, court time at the bubble has become a controversial issue, as the sport of pickleball has grown in popularity and players have protested for more time to play.
Under scheduling changes this winter, pickleball is being allocated an additional 84 hours of court time per week at the MARC.
During public comment at the Park City Council meeting Thursday, longtime resident and tennis player Julie Walker said she doesn’t plan to renew her MARC pass due to the changes.
Walker said complaints from pickleball players seem to have worked.
“The squeaky wheel has gotten attention,” Walker said. “It’s too much, we’ve given an inch and they’re wanting to take more and more and more. It’s just not equitable.”
Several other tennis players spoke at Thursday’s meeting, also saying they believe the new schedule is unfair.
“I think part of the problem is the tennis community has not been aggressive about this, because we assume tennis courts are for playing tennis, not for playing pickleball.” Snyderville Basin resident Steve Powell said. “We ask that you revisit this… I think pickleball is a wonderful thing. I’ve played pickleball. But you need to accommodate both, and the MARC does not have adequate facilities for both.”
Park City Recreation Director Ken Fisher said the changes were recommendations from a subcommittee that studied the court time issue for months.
“In the end, the committee decided that they did not want to impact any of our programming and that the impact would come to the players that just reserve court time,” Fisher said.
Park City Councilmember Ed Parigian, who sat on the committee, said one major variable they considered is that tennis players don’t want to play in the bubble at the same time as pickleball.
In 2023 the MARC ran a pilot program allowing simultaneous pickleball and tennis play in the bubble. Players were asked to fill out a survey about their experience.
Pickleballers unanimously said they would support more side-by-side play, whereas a majority of tennis players said they would not participate in mixed use play in the future.
In written responses, tennis players complained about noisy pickleball play, which they said is amplified by the acoustics of the bubble.
Park City Councilmember Tana Toly said they invite more public input on the court time plan.
“I don’t think this conversation is in any way over,” Toly said.
Full details on the court allocation plan for the MARC bubble this winter can be found here.
