Tag: New Courts

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SMPA Directors Zoom to Olympia for Senate Hearing on SB5333

SMPA Directors Kate Van Gent, Amy Greger and John Rankin conduct a license plate strategy session prior to the Senate Committee Hearing.

Three SMPA directors are testifying via Zoom before the Senate Transportation Committee on Monday February 6th in support of the State Sport special license plate bill. Joining them are Nancy Purcell, president of the Mukilteo Everett Pickleball Club, Rose Jones of Pickleball Playground in Spokane, and Pablo Granados, who is representing the Marysville Pickleball Assn, the Lake Stevens Pickleball Assn and the Snoco County Pickleball Assn. Pablo Granados is also the executive director of DUPR in Washington State. We are excited to have them join us in presenting compelling arguments in support of the first pickleball license plate in the U.S. The hearing begins at 4 pm. Five items are on the committee agenda. The scheduled start time for SB5333 is just after 5 pm, with live video feed provided by the legislature on TVW.

The Seattle Metro Pickleball Association serves the Seattle Metro area, a population base of 3.5 million people within Seattle, King County and portions of Snohomish and Pierce Counties. The board members are unpaid volunteers committed to developing the sport and pickleball facilities not just in the Seattle Metro area but throughout the state. The SMPA is working with the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office on a large statewide grant program for athletic facilities. SMPA is working to make pickleball an official school sport in Washington through its sponsorship of pickleball leagues in schools.

Pickleball continues to grow at an accelerated rate. In 2023 the Association of Pickleball Players released a YouGov report stating that 36.5 million adult Americans played pickleball in 2022, 10 million more than tennis participation, which per the United States Tennis Association is 23.6 million. The SMPA is working hard to find solutions to meet the increasing demand for pickleball courts, including being the non-profit sponsor of this bill.

If passed, the state sport license plate will be the first pickleball license plate in the U.S.

Proceeds from State Sport license plate sales are to be used solely for the construction and maintenance of dedicated pickleball courts and are available to be used throughout Washington. The Seattle Metro Pickleball Association is happy to partner with any Washington parks and recreation department, city or municipality which has fast-tracked the construction and maintenance of dedicated pickleball courts.

The presence of pickleball plates on vehicles will increase awareness of the state sport. The license plates will be roaming advertisements for pickleball, leading to opportunities for education about the state sport as well as more pickleball courts throughout Washington. Most importantly, it will allow pickleball players to proudly display their love for the state sport.

You can help make an impact by supporting the bill. Fill out the electronic form here. Your support will be submitted directly to the Senate committee on the day of the hearing.

Please join us in the effort to pass the bill by indicating your support today!

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Support Dedicated Pickleball Courts in Bellevue Airfield Park! (Take 3)

What

We have made lots of progress with 80+ supporters attending the last meeting. We want to see 100+ supporters this time. Please come and help to create a regional pickleball facility!

Attend Public Engagement Meeting #3 for Bellevue Airfield Park Master Plan Update. Your presence at this meeting is crucial in getting 16 dedicated pickleball courts, and the possibility of having a roof over these outdoor courts at the Airfield Park.

Thank you for putting this on your calendar.

Please help spread the word!

When

January 19, 2023 (Thursday), 6:30-8 p.m.

Where

South Bellevue Community Center
14509 SE Newport Way, Bellevue

Meeting Format

In-person only.
No virtual option.
Registration not required.
Open to anyone who lives, works or plays in Bellevue. You don’t have to be a Bellevue resident to attend.

More information


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Help Plan the Future of Redmond Pickleball (Part 2)

Redmond Parks spent the summer listening to community ideas for future parks projects in Redmond. This feedback was meant to guide how they manage and enhance your parks, playgrounds, community centers, forests, and trails over the next ten years.

Join Redmond Parks online or in person at City Hall on Wednesday, Oct. 5 to hear how they will update the Parks, Arts, Recreation, Culture, and Conservation (PARCC) Plan to see if this new plan will meet the needs of our growing and diverse pickleball community with new pickleball facilities, activities, programs and events.

What?

Redmond Community Meeting on Parks and Recreation

When?

Wednesday, October 5, 2022, from 6:30 PM until 8:00 PM

Where?

  • In-person: Redmond City Hall, Council Chambers, 15670 NE 85th Street, Redmond, WA 98073, or
  • online.

How to Register?

Register here to attend online or in person.

More information

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Ask for Pickleball Courts at Bellevue Airfield Park (Take 2)

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.

Second Community Meeting

When?

This in-person community meeting will take place on Thursday, September 22 from 6:30-8 p.m.

Where?

At the South Bellevue Community Center located at 14509 SE Newport Way. Registration is not required.

Who?

You.

You do not need to be a Bellevue resident to participate.

Do I Have to?

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.

What?

This second community outreach meeting will include opportunities to:

  • Recap the first community meeting discussion.
  • See the draft Bellevue Airfield Park Master Plan Update options being considered.
  • Share your ideas and input for how Parks can balance the needs and program options for the Bellevue Airfield Park.
  • Discuss your thoughts on the draft plans and future steps for the master plan update process. 

Please attend and share your vision for a pickleball facility to be located at Bellevue Airfield Park.

What’s next?

If we do well at this meeting, we will get to attend a third (and possibly final) one.

More Info

Visit the Bellevue Airfield Park web page.

View the event notice flyer

Survey

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.

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Vote for New Sammamish Pickleball Courts

What is going on?

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.

What can YOU do?

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.

Where can I learn more?

Learn more about this project here.

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Seattle Outdoor Pickleball Construction Briefing and Update

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:

  • SPR describes pickleball’s growth as a pickleball explosion.
  • SPR gets the social nature of pickleball, as well as its drop-in culture.
  • SPR was surprised to get over 3,000 responses to their online survey.
  • SPR thinks that a few single tennis courts that are not very much used are the best candidates to be converted into dedicated pickleball courts. Unfortunately, most such courts in Seattle are smaller than regular size tennis courts. This means that once converted into pickleball courts, these pickleball courts would have less room than you might expect behind the base lines. Watch the beginning of this video to see why having space behind the baselines is important to be able to retrieve deep shots.
  • Preliminary cost estimates for two brand new dedicated pickleball facilities of 8 to 12 courts are more than originally anticipated when planning for the upcoming Seattle Parks District budget cycle.
  • SPR reports that Seattle schools might start lining some of the tennis courts at their facilities.

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.

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Advise on the Future of Kirkland’s Parks System

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

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Seattle Outdoor Pickleball Construction Briefing and Update

What?

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.

When?

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.”

How?

In person: at 100 Dexter Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109
Or online.
If all else fails, go here.

Will I have a chance to speak?

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.

Will I have a chance to comment on the “Outdoor Pickleball Construction Briefing and Update”?

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.

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Seattle’s Miller Player Petitions for 6 Pickleball Courts on 2 Tennis Courts

While the Miller courts currently have lines for two tennis courts or four pickleball courts, they are used predominantly for pickleball. Moreover, there are often long lines of pickleball players waiting for a turn to play. Adding 2 pickleball courts in the existing space would provide 50% more pickleball capacity at very little cost.

Since Seattle Parks is planning to resurface these courts this summer, now would be the perfect time to transition from 4 to 6 pickleball courts at this location.

You can view and sign Linda’s petition here: https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/more-pickleball-courts-for-miller-park

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Ask for Pickleball Courts at Bellevue Airfield Park

What?

Could it be that you would like to see twelve or more collocated pickleball courts at Airfield Park? With lights? With a roof?

How?

To let Bellevue Parks know:

  • Email the project manager Ken Kroeger (kkroeger@bellevuewa.gov), and tell him what kind of pickleball facility you would like to see at Airfield Park.
  • Attend the first of three public engagement Zoom meetings on Tuesday, July 26th from 6:30 to 8:00pm. Remember to register ahead of time.

Make sure you share a vivid picture of what you would like to see.
Don’t just say “I would like Airfield Park to have pickleball courts.“
Do say something like “I would like Airfield Park to have 8 or more public regulation-size dedicated outdoor pickleball courts, with lights, and under a cover, a lot like the public pickleball facility at Opelika.“

Why?

Bellevue currently has only one set of very busy dedicated outdoor pickleball courts, located at the Bellevue International School. We will lose those courts when the school expands its campus. If we want other dedicated courts, we have to ask for them.

More information