The City of Delta is looking to build more than 30 dedicated outdoor pickleball courts over the next three and a half years.
At its May 13 regular meeting, Delta council approved in principle a multi-year sport court improvement program that would see the city resurface, rebuild or expand facilities at 10 Delta parks to provide additional space for pickleball.
Currently there are only three dedicated outdoor pickleball courts in Delta, located in Memorial Park in Ladner, compared to 40 outdoor tennis courts. The vast majority of pickleball in Delta is played indoors at the city’s recreation centres.
Several Delta parks include shared courts with lines painted for both tennis and pickleball — three in Ladner (Cromie Park, Mountain View Park and Kensington Park), two in North Delta (Sunshine Hills Park and North Delta Community Park) and one in Tsawwassen (Dennison Park). However, according to a report by city staff, the pickleball lines painted on top of tennis courts “do not fully address the sport’s requirements for suitable play.”
The report notes that participation in pickleball “is expanding at a rate far faster than other sports.”
Following consultations with the Delta Pickleball Association, staff identified three locations that would meet the association’s immediate needs: Chalmers Park in North Delta, Dennison Park in Tsawwassen and Cromie Park in Ladner. Work at all three locations is slated to be completed by the end of the year.
The proposed work at Chalmers Park would be a full rebuild and expansion of the current facilities, including conduits for future lighting at the site, to allow for eight dedicated pickleball courts and two dedicated tennis courts. The park currently has three tennis-only courts.
Dennison Park, meanwhile would be home to four newly-built dedicated pickleball courts. The park is currently home to three dual-use courts.
Cromie Park would see its shared tennis/pickleball courts resurfaced and relined, expanding its pickleball capacity from two to six courts.
Funding for the projects would come out of the $1,195,000 earmarked for the resurfacing and rebuilding of sport courts in the city’s 2019 capital plan — approximately $500,000 for Chalmers, $450,000 for Dennison and $50,000 for Cromie.
As well, the city plans to repaint the courts at Sunshine Hills Park in North Delta (four of the tennis courts are lined for pickleball), to the tune of about $5,000.
Staff will be conducting public consultations for the proposed work at Chalmers, Dennison and Cromie, followed by subsequent reports to council that would include the recommended final designs and more detailed budget estimates before the projects are approved.
Work at Cromie Park is scheduled to be complete in time for summer. The other projects would be complete later in 2019.
The sport court improvement program also calls for 21 new dedicated pickleball courts, eight dedicated tennis courts and five dual-use courts (each dual-use court allows for one tennis or two pickleball courts) between 2020 and 2022.
In 2020, the program would include an expansion of the facility at Cromie Park, adding four dedicated pickleball courts, as well as a full rebuild of the four dedicated tennis courts at Hawthorne Park in Ladner and two new dual-use courts as part of the new track facility at North Delta Secondary. Staff estimate the Cromie and Hawthorne projects will cost the city $350,000 and $400,000, respectively, while funding for the NDSS-adjacent courts is included in the track project cost.
RELATED: North Delta Secondary could see track upgrades within three years
Next, in 2021, the courts at Pebble Hill Park in Tsawwassen would be resurfaced in conjunction with upgrades to the Greater Vancouver Water District reservoir, adding nine dedicated pickleball courts and four dedicated tennis courts. The plan also calls for a full rebuild of the facility at North Delta’s Endersby Park, adding one dual-use court. The estimated price tags for those projects are $100,000 and $200,000, respectively.
Finally, the plan calls for a full rebuild of the existing facility in North Delta’s Annieville Park and the resurfacing of the existing facility in Ladner’s Mountain View Park in 2021, adding two dedicated pickleball courts and one dedicated tennis court in each location. It’s estimated each of those projects would cost the city $200,000.
Funding for the projects slated for 2020-2022 is being referred to the city’s 2020 business planning workshop.
READ MORE: Pickleball swings into North Delta
SEE ALSO: New track, synthetic field and change rooms in the works for North Delta
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