Park Authority calls for more pickleball courts

Braddock Supervisor James Walkinshaw gets a pickleball lesson at Wakefield Park.

Fairfax County’s Pickleball Study calls for creating more courts to meet the demand for the increasingly popular sport, including a future complex with at least six courts. 

The study, endorsed by the Park Authority Board Dec. 8, will guide the planning, design, and operation of future pickleball facilities. 

Among the recommendations in the study:

• The Park Authority should convert shared-use pickleball courts (one-on-one) that share a central tennis net should be converted to a two-on-one layout with movable nets to provide for two pickleball courts per tennis court. 
• The county should use future park bonds to support the construction of at least two pickleball-only facilities with six or more courts suitable for large groups, drop-in play, and tournaments. Rather than build a new facility, the Park Authority should first consider converting underutilized courts to a dedicated pickleball complex. 
• The county should use its existing public court inventory to create pickleball opportunities as part of ongoing maintenance efforts.
• The master planning process should be used to plan pickleball courts in new locations.
• The Park Authority should adopt site-selection criteria to provide a standardized evaluation method to determine whether a new pickleball court is appropriate.
• On shared courts, specific times and days should be designated for pickleball or tennis use only on a first-come-first-serve basis.

According to the study, a new pickleball court would cost $60,000 to $70,000. Restriping and resurfacing an existing court would cost $4,000 to $6,000. A complete renovation of an existing court would be $60,000 to $80,000.

As of this fall, the Park Authority will have 50 outdoor pickleball courts on shared tennis courts and two pickleball-only courts (at Wakefield Park in Annandale).

In addition to Wakefield, existing outdoor pickleball courts operated by the Park Authority in the Annandale/Mason District area are in Roundtree, Kendale Woods, Spring Lane, and Lillian Carey parks and the Providence Rec Center.

There are also pickleball courts at facilities operated by the Department of Neighborhood and Community Services at several locations, including the Bailey’s and James Lee community centers.

Among respondents to a Park Authority survey, 62 percent said they are willing to drive up to 20 minutes to access a pickleball court. Nearly 100 percent of county residents are within 20 minute-drive of a pickleball court, and 77.3 percent are within a 10-minute drive.