Pickleball has become one of the fastest growing sports in North America in terms of participation.
Lethbridge will soon be adding six more courts to accommodate the growing demand.
Lethbridge City Council on Tuesday voted unanimously to approve a recent recommendation from the Cultural and Social Standing Policy Committee to direct Administration to proceed with the construction of the Pickleball courts as outlined in 2022-2031 Capital Improvement Program Initiative D-30.
"We are looking forward to adding more pickleball courts in our city to help meet the rapidly increasing interest in this fun sport," says Councillor Mark Campbell, who is also Chair of the Cultural and Social SPC.
Full details are available on Page 136/335 here: https://www.lethbridge.ca/City-Government/Financial-Documents/Documents/CIP/2022-2031CIPFinal.pdf
"When complete, the 12 courts will include wind protection and an operational model and agreement for use and access to the courts will be developed through discussions with the Lethbridge Pickleball Club to ensure access to both the Club and the public," says Robin Harper, General Manager of Recreation and Culture.
Before deciding to move ahead with the original idea of constructing six new courts, to the north of the existing courts, it was decided to explore the possibility of repurposing the adjacent two tennis courts to pickleball courts, as an opportunity to utilize existing infrastructure and reduce capital expenses. The community was engaged by placing a survey on the Get Involved Lethbridge webpage from November to December 2021 and received 601 engaged participant responses.
With Tuesday's approval, the existing tennis courts will be left as is. Construction will begin on the new pickleball courts in late 2022 or early 2023.
