Designated pickleball courts the ‘guinea pig’ for future sport court renovations

Pickleball players don’t have to use a tennis court to play Washington’s official sport in Corbin Park after two designated pickleball courts opened following a ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday.

The park had two tennis courts prior to renovations on the surfacing and fencing that began in October last year, said interim city administrator Garrett Jones. The dedicated pickleball courts, now in place of one of the tennis courts, is part of a continuing effort to renovate existing sports courts and creating a multi-use sport court atmosphere.

Community members vocalized a shared desire to improve sports courts across the city and Jones said pickleball was included in a master plan for shared courts because it is an important amenity for the health and wellness of the community.

“As we know, pickleball was starting to really explode in the region and we’re getting a lot of interest,” Jones said.

While Corbin Park now has the two pickleball courts, the tennis court can be converted into a third pickleball court with a portable net, he said.

Jones said moving forward, the city hopes to have more dedicated pickleball courts as well as tennis courts that can be converted into pickleball courts, including in Underhill Park, which will have renovations for more designated pickleball courts starting in August.

“It is a great moment to be here to open up this investment in these courts at Corbin, which can serve as a model for future neighborhood park improvements,” he said. “Corbin Park is the guinea pig for more to come in the future.”

Bob Anderson, Spokane Parks Board president, said the park represents an ideal alliance between a community and its neighborhood and it plays an important role in community activities, including thousands of trick-or-treaters on Halloween and an annual Christmas tree lighting at the park.

“The same community spirit that brought light to the wonderful seasonal activities was central to the development of Spokane’s first dedicated pickleball courts,” he said. “Thank you, members of the Corbin Park community, for providing the template of how a community and their park become one. Enjoy your new courts, and I imagine you will find creative ways to integrate them into your numerous events.”

Members of Spokane’s Pickleball Club were some of the first to play a game on the new courts after the ribbon cutting.

Pickleball Club president Mike Johansen said opening up the two courts is a step toward making the game accessible to everybody.

Johansen said having designated pickleball courts, rather than using tennis courts, allows people to play on their own court rather than being limited to a certain number of courts.

“I don’t think this will be a popular open play court, we want to build some bigger ones for that,” he said. “But it’s a wonderful neighborhood to have it.”