Proposed Multi Use of Existing Tennis Courts

Pickleball is a racquet sport that has many similarities with tennis. However, it requires different lines and nets in order to play.

The board has had multiple inquiries and requests about adding pickleball lines to our tennis courts.

We recognize that there are some potential benefits and issues with this idea, so we wanted to present them to the community and find out if there was considerable support for or opposition to the idea of modifying one court to have pickleball lines.

First, here is the proposed change:

1. Paint lines for pickleball on the West court.

The lines would look essentially similar to the image below:

The lines would be painted in a way to minimize any confusion with existing tennis lines.

2. Players would need to provide their own net constructed in a way as to not damage the courts.

3. Pickleball play would be restricted to between 9am and 9pm to limit noise disturbing nearby residents.

4. Court reservations on the website will not be as straight forward. Reserving the West Court for pickleball, you will have the option to reserve “Pickleball (one)” or “Pickleball (both)”, thus letting someone else know if the second Pickleball court will possibly be available.

5. No pickleball will be allowed on the East Court.

The ballot will have 3 options:

  • For Painting Pickleball Lines on West Court

  • Against Modifying Courts.

  • No opinion/Abstain.

Please consider these when making your choice:

Pros:
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  • An opportunity for more community members to enjoy the courts and participate in an active sport.

  • Pickleball requires less skill and is easier to learn than tennis.

  • Pickleball is less strenuous and can be played by younger and older players without as much requirement for movement.

  • Pickleball is THE fastest growing sport in the country.

  • A very social game which encourages additional community involvement in FC.

  • Limiting the timeframe for pickleball will mitigate some of the disturbance to nearby homes.

Cons:
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  • Pickleball is noisy. It is played with hard paddles and a plastic ball and is considerably louder than tennis. This could

    • interfere with tennis play

    • disturb homes nearby

    • disturb the relative quiet at the park and pool.

  • Altering the courts could cause confusion when playing tennis and would potentially disqualify the court from being used for USTA matches.

  • Cost of lines (~$1000), new signs and managing issues.

  • Court availability for tennis will be reduced due to competition with pickleball demand.