Seattle Parks has released the maps of the proposed new pickleball courts that they presented on May 25th, during their second outdoor pickleball study open house. Read all about it below.
Keep in mind that nothing is set in stone.
Highlights
More courts
The current plan significantly increases the number of locations where people can play pickleball by:
- In the short term, adding pickleball court lines to more existing tennis courts.
- In the medium term, converting a few tennis courts that currently see very little usage into dedicated pickleball courts.
- In the long term, creating two brand new dedicated pickleball facilities, each with 8 to 12 pickleball courts.
More lights
People who work during the day have very few opportunities to play pickleball in Seattle during weekdays during the 6 darkest months of the year. Currently only the Miller pickleball courts have reasonable lights. This new plan proposes to add pickleball court lines at the following tennis courts which already have lights:
- Alki Playground (West Seattle)
- Laurelhurst (Northeast)
- Madrona (Central)
- Meadowbrook (Northeast)
- Rainier Beach (South Seattle)
- Solstice Park (West Seattle)
It also calls for adding lights to the following existing courts:
- Green Lake East (Northwest)
- Magnolia Playfield (Central)
Summary
We have summarized the proposed changes below. Click on any of the headings to see the corresponding maps.
Northeast
- Add pickleball court lines to the existing tennis courts at the following locations:
– Bryant Neighborhood Playground
– Laurelhurst Playfield (2 out of 4 tennis courts)
– Meadowbrook Playfield (3 out of 6 tennis courts)
– Victory Heights Playground - Create 8 to 12 new dedicated pickleball courts in the Magnuson Park parking lot by Frog Pond
- Consider conversion, dual stripe, and lights when renovating the Ravenna Park tennis courts
- Consider converting the old Cowen Park tennis courts
Northwest
- Add pickleball court lines to the existing tennis courts at the following location: West Green Lake
- Add lights to the East Green Lake courts
- Either dual stripe both tennis courts at Wallingford Playfield or convert one of the two tennis courts into pickleball courts
Central Area
- Convert one of the Observatory Courts tennis courts on Queen Anne to 4 dedicated pickleball courts
- Add pickleball court lines to the existing tennis courts at the following locations:
– Montlake Playfield
– Madrona Playground - Add lights to the West Magnolia Playfield courts
Southeast
- Either dual stripe both tennis courts at Seward Park, or convert one of the two tennis courts into pickleball courts.
- Add pickleball court lines to the existing tennis courts at the following location: Rainier Beach Playfield
- Consider converting the old Fred Hutchinson Playground tennis courts into pickleball courts with their upcoming renovation
- Create 8 to 12 new dedicated pickleball courts at Genesee Playfield, just east of the Rainier Community Center
Southwest
- Add pickleball court lines to the existing tennis courts at the following locations:
– Alki Playground
– Riverside Playfield
– Solstice Park (3 out of 6 tennis courts)
A Word of Caution
Keep in mind that you are looking at a draft version of the plan and nothing is set in stone.
Thank You!
Thank you for your efforts reaching out to Seattle and letting them know what you wanted. It helped tremendously. None of this would have happened without your involvement. This is a community-wide effort, and our pickleball community is the best.
What’s Next?
We expect Seattle Parks to present an updated proposal to the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners on either July 14th or August 11th.