Seattle Metro Pickleball Association
The Miller players’ effort to get more pickleball courts is now at City Hall, where they have found a couple of officials who may be willing to intervene with Seattle Parks and Recreation on their behalf.
Add your voice to theirs by emailing those officials with your support.
This sample email is all set up for you with officials’ addresses and supporting text. Please personalize the text as much as you like, sign your name and send it off.
Bellevue is updating its Master Plan for Bellevue Airfield Park.
A few weeks ago, we attended the first of three community meetings to tell them what park elements we would like to see at this new community park. Somehow, we all agreed that having pickleball courts would be a great idea.
Now, a second community meeting and a new survey have been announced.
This in-person community meeting will take place on Thursday, September 22 from 6:30-8 p.m.
At the South Bellevue Community Center located at 14509 SE Newport Way. Registration is not required.
You.
You do not need to be a Bellevue resident to participate.
For us to have a chance to get 8 or more pickleball courts at Bellevue Airfield Park, it is crucial that the pickleball community be present at this meeting and make their voice heard.
This second community outreach meeting will include opportunities to:
Please attend and share your vision for a pickleball facility to be located at Bellevue Airfield Park.
If we do well at this meeting, we will get to attend a third (and possibly final) one.
Visit the Bellevue Airfield Park web page.
View the event notice flyer
Please take a few minutes to answer Bellevue Parks’ new informational gathering survey.
Question 5 will ask if there is anything missing from the 2012 Master Plan. Make sure to mention that it is missing a pickleball facility. Share a vivid picture of what you mean by that. Is it one pickleball court? Is it two? Is it a dozen? Are there lights? Is there a roof? If you know of an existing facility that could serve as an example, add a link to it.
Question 8 will ask what types of active programs would interest you. Make sure to check the “Other” box and specify “pickleball“. Feel free to expand on what type of pickleball programs you would like to see such as pickleball drop-in, classes, leagues, ladders, tournaments, etc.
9/9/2022 5:15 pm Update
Mariners just sent the Gameday Guide by email. They will open the gate 2 HOURS before game at 4:10 p.m. We will have more time on the rooftop!
Traffic advisory: All southbound traffic on Interstate 5 will be reduced to the left lanes and the West Seattle Bridge will be closed. Expecting lots of traffic so leave early and see you at the T-Mobile Park tomorrow!
https://www.mlb.com/mariners/ballpark/gate-bag-policy-faq
Update on Mariners Pickleball Night on September 10th, Mariners vs. Atlanta Braves. The Seattle Metro Pickleball Association’s Pickleball Night pre-game event is being held from 4:10 pm to 5:45 pm. Gates open at 4:10 pm. Raffle must be entered by 5:30 pm and the drawing will take place at 5:40 pm. The Rooftop Deck event ends at 5:45 so everyone has time to get to their seats before Riley’s first pitch!
Seventy-five main level Pickleball Night seats in section 115 were added the morning of September 7th after selling out over Labor Day weekend. Per Alexa Olague, Account Executive with the Seattle Mariners, this is the last batch of main level seats being released for Pickleball Night. Main level seats are $30.
View level tickets are still available. These $20 seats are just to the right of home plate and are a short walk directly from the Rooftop Deck where the pre-game pickleball event is being held. These seats have a view overlooking home plate and are located in sections 327 and 328.
The Seattle Mariners have 99% playoff odds and the stadium is expected to sell out. The last day to purchase tickets is September 9th. Call Mariners Account Executive Alexa Olague at (206) 346-4506 if you have any ticket questions. If you plan on driving, don’t forget to reserve a parking spot on mobile device apps like Spot Hero.
Don’t miss out on the magic of the special evening the Seattle Metro Pickleball Association has planned. In addition to a pre-game meet and greet with pickleball pro athletes Riley and Lindsey Newman, the Seattle Metro Pickleball Association is hosting a two paddle raffle, a four-person dinking court and is partnering with Pickleball Central, who has a few special give-a-ways of their own. Did we mention the Rooftop Deck has breathtaking Puget Sound and Seattle skyline views? After the pre-game festivities, walk down to your seats to watch top professional pickleball athlete Riley Newman throw out the group first pitch.
Pickleball License Plate!
The Seattle Metro Association has one more special event planned that evening. We are launching the pickleball license plate bill initiative! We need 3,500 signatures to help make this happen. Come sign our petition at the SMPA booth.
The Seattle Metro Pickleball Association would like to give a special shout out to Senator John Lovick for being the legislator supporting this effort!
Come celebrate Mariners Pickleball Night with your host Seattle Metro Pickleball Association at a Mariners game! The Mariners play against the Atlanta Braves on Saturday, September 10th at 6:10 pm at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.
For one night only, pickleball fans can watch the game and cheer from their own special sections when Riley Newman throws out the first pitch.
Bring your friends and family! Come have some pickleball fun and cheer on the Mariners at T-Mobile Park. Hope to see you there!
On August 11, 2022, Seattle Parks and Recreation (SPR) briefed and updated Seattle’s Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners on its “2021-2022 Outdoor Pickleball Study”
Seattle Parks insists on having two pickleball courts per tennis court at the most. On August 11, five pickleball players addressed the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners to plead their case for painting 6 pickleball courts on the two Miller tennis courts.
A very, very, special thank you to the 120+ volunteers who make this tournament what it is.
Over 100 players already signed the online petition. Over 25 have signed the paper version.
Bellevue is updating its Master Plan for Bellevue Airfield Park. They want to know what park elements you would like to see at this new community park.
The tennis courts at Rainier Beach, Gilman Playground, and Alki will get pickleball court lines this summer
You answered dozens of surveys from the Seattle Parks Department and some from the Seattle Parks District. You sent emails to Seattle Parks, the Seattle Parks Superintendent, the Seattle Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners, the Seattle City Council, and Seattle’s previous and current mayors. You attended in person and online meetings. It is all slowly coming to fruition as Seattle Parks works on a new plan to expand the number of outdoor locations where you can play pickleball throughout the city.
The latest SMPA blog posts are featured on the SMPA web site’s main page. Scroll down to the “Latest from the blog” section.
You can find all the news on the SMPA web site. Simply click on the News menu item or go here.
In Sammamish’s previous survey and open houses regarding these two parks you said you wanted pickleball courts.
Now Sammamish has developed three design proposals for each park, and they are awaiting your feedback.
Of the three proposals for Beaton Hill Park, the first one has no pickleball courts, the second one has two dedicated pickleball courts, and the third one has four.
None of the current designs for Big Rock Park South include pickleball courts.
Please vote for Beaton Hill Park concept #3, “Playful Space for Everyone” while completing this survey. You don’t need to be a resident to take the survey
Give a score of 5 to question #12 to indicate that you favor the Beaton Hill Park concept #3 with 4 dedicated pickleball courts.
Make sure you give a score of less than 5 to all other alternatives.
Use question #15 to express your other wishes regarding pickleball courts at either park. If you would like more than 4 courts, or would like to see lights on the courts, write it here.
Learn more about this project here.
We were hoping to learn more about SPR’s current plan for outdoor pickleball during this briefing, but the presentation remained at a very high-level. If you have attended Seattle Parks’ two open houses on the subject or read our post titled New Seattle Outdoor Pickleball Courts: Draft Plan, you probably know a lot more about the subject than the Commissioners do.
A few interesting points nonetheless:
You can watch the entire presentation below. We apologize for the blue box covering some of the slides.
The entire meeting, including the presentation above is available here. This video does not have the blue box problem of the video above, but the image is not as sharp.
As you already know, Seattle’s Miller pickleball community has petitioned the Seattle Parks Department, asking it to paint lines for six pickleball courts instead of four on the existing two tennis courts at Miller Playfield on Capitol Hill.
The Parks Department replied that they will keep limiting the number of pickleball courts to four.
Tonight, five pickleball players addressed the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners to plead their case. You can watch them in action in the video below.
Thank you Lee-Lee, Yash, Phil, Michelle, Joni and everyone else who worked tirelessly to make this happen!
Below is a copy of some of the handouts Joni gave to the commissioners.
The Kirkland City Council is seeking community volunteers to serve on a Parks Funding Exploratory Committee (PFEC).
Community feedback over the past few years has shown a strong desire to add an aquatic center and additional indoor recreation space in Kirkland. Community members also want year-round access to restrooms, a strengthened trail network, better lighting and parking at facilities, increased maintenance of parks, pickleball courts, diverse and inclusive recreation programming, and more.
The purpose of the PFEC is to make recommendations to the City Council in Spring 2023 regarding potential parks ballot measure(s) for placement on the November 2023 ballot.
PFEC will meet twice a month on Thursday evenings from September 2022 through February 2023. Interested community members are invited to apply to join the PFEC. The online application will be open until August 25, 2022. Committee members will be announced the first week of September.
For more information and to apply, visit www.kirklandwa.gov/parks2023ballot
Oliver Bazinet, Seattle Parks’ Senior Planning and Development Specialist, is scheduled to brief the Seattle Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners about the results of his department’s latest outdoor pickleball study.
On Thursday August 11.
Tune in at 6:35pm to listen to the public comments., some of which might be about pickleball.
Tune in at 7:05pm to listen to the “Outdoor Pickleball Construction Briefing and Update.”
In person: at 100 Dexter Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109
Or online.
If all else fails, go here.
To get a chance to speak for two minutes during the “public comments” section at the beginning of the meeting, send an email to Paula Hoff (paula.hoff@seattle.gov) before 5:30pm on Thursday. In the Subject field of your email, please write: Board meeting public comment. Please provide in the body of the email, your name, email address, and if calling in to the meeting, your phone number.
Note that the “public comments” section of the meeting will happen before the “Outdoor Pickleball Construction Briefing and Update” section.
Not during this meeting.
You can offer your comments after the meeting by reaching out to the Parks Board Commissioners via Benjamin Burtzos or drectly to Oliver Bazinet.
Shoreview Park
900 NW Innis Arden Way
Shoreline, WA 98177
August 6, 2022 (Saturday)
12 PM to 4 PM
We can use your help! Need 6 volunteers for 15-20 minutes before and after Member Play Day. Just come early and/or stay after if you are available!
The list looks long but only takes a few minutes for each task.
BEFORE
DURING
AFTER