Village Of Falconer Trustees Eye Pickleball Courts
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FALCONER – The village of Falconer is in a "pickle.”
Falconer Village Board members met Monday with a representative from JM Pro Courts and Surface Solutions about converting the village's old tennis courts into new and usable pickleball courts.
"Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the world," said John Mora, a representative with JM Pro Courts and Surface Solutions. "It's a hot topic now. When I first started, we'd install maybe four or five courts a year. Now we're averaging 80 or more a year. Anyone, any age can play ... you get a moderate workout and it's not too hard on the body."
Pickleball is a racket or paddle sport in which two players (singles), or four players (doubles), hit, with paddles, a perforated, hollow plastic ball over a 34-inch-high net until one side is unable to return the ball or commits a rule infraction, much like the sport of tennis or badminton. In 2022 the state of Washington named pickleball the official sport of the state.
"To build the courts (six of them) and to install all the hardware to include installing 12 premier round pickleball posts and six center anchors we're estimating a cost of $51,910," Mora said.
Annette Miller, village trustee, pointed out there are issues with the existing court which the pickleball courts would overlay.
"I'm told that there's more than 1,000 feet of cracks in our tennis courts," she said.
"If we need to resurface and fill the existing foundation, that will add about $18,000 to the cost of the project," responded Mora. "However, your return on investment is solid. We installed a few courts not too far from here last summer, and within weeks of the installation the city was calling us back, asking if we could install bleachers and benches in their parks. Once word gets out that you have these courts the pickleball community will start holding tournaments and it will draw attention."
Falconer officials sent out a survey in May and June 2022 of what residents would like to be placed in Falconer Park if the current tennis courts were repurposed. Pickleball was the number one choice, followed by a splash park which was in a dead even tie with a skateboarding park.
However, if the pickleball court project is approved by the village trustees, it could be some time before the parks could see any movement on the construction of the new proposed courts.
"We're booking jobs well into mid-year. If approved by the city, the earliest we'd be able to get to this project would be late July, early August, and it takes about 12-weeks to complete everything," said Mora.
"The tennis courts are not being used; I'd like to see some movement there – maybe help keep some of the riff-raff out," Miller said.