Listen Like a Local Park City & Heber City Summit & Wasatch counties, Utah

Pickleball court proposal rallies community support

In this Monday, Dec. 3, 2012 photo, Del Teter competes in a game of pickleball at Sun City West senior community in Surprise, Ariz. A hybrid of tennis, badminton and table tennis, pickleball is played on a court a quarter the size of a tennis court, with hard rackets and a variety of whiffle ball. Created on the whim of a U.S. Congressman, pickleball has become a big hit in senior communities around the country, and is gaining steam with younger players and at schools, too. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Matt York/AP

Park City pickleball players are mobilizing in support of a new facility to play the game.

Indoor and outdoor pickleball courts are part of the Park City Recreation department’s master plan.

The plan includes 16 outdoor courts and eight indoor for the game, which has exploded in popularity in recent years.

The proposal is to build the courts at the Park City Sports Complex off S.R. 248 in Quinn’s Junction.

That plan will be a discussion topic at Thursday’s Park City Council meeting, where there may be a strong community showing.

The Park City Pickleball Club is rallying members to show up and voice support.

In an email, club Vice President Debbie Matamoros says councilmember Max Doilney and recreation director Ken Fisher encouraged the club to bring a large pro-pickleball crowd.

“It'd be great for people to show up and voice their support for these projects,” Fisher says. “It's been discussed for many months at the recreation advisory board, and they are supportive of moving this forward to the city council to get city council's opinion and the next steps.”

Pickleball clubs in Park City and Heber City have a track record of showing up in large numbers to lobby for new courts and other initiatives.

A petition in support of the plan had gathered over 130 signatures by Friday. The petition also said the club wants the city to prioritize the indoor courts.

According to the agenda for the Thursday meeting, there won’t be a decision about the master plan and new courts yet. It’s only listed as a discussion item.

Also included in the discussion about the master plan are the aquatics facilities at the P.C. MARC and summer camp building.

The begins Thursday at 4:15 p.m. with a work session, after the council first meets in closed session. The pickleball discussion is planned during the regular meeting, which begins at 5:30 p.m.

The full agenda is available at parkcity.org.

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