Here’s the ‘Dill’ on Courts Proposed in Saratoga County for Sports Craze

There is a sport that is gaining popularity here in the Capital Region and many towns and cities are trying to accommodate those that play. A town in Saratoga County is planning to build a set of courts specifically for the sport.

Pickleball Has Become a Very Popular Sport

Pickleball is all the rage from young to old. It's a sport that incorporates tennis, ping pong, and badminton. Tennis courts are used but modified as pickleball courts.

A Saratoga County Town is Listening to The Public's Demand For Pickleball

Recently, the Town of Clifton Park has been modifying many of its tennis courts to make them suitable for pickleball. But now they are accepting bids to build an entire area inside Veterans Memorial Park & Mooney Carrese Forest in Ballston Lake exclusively for pickleball.

What Will Be Included In The Pickleball Project?

The Town of Clifton Park wants to build ten pickleball courts, a covered pavilion, and electricity to, at a later date, have lighting. The town has received a lot of proposals for the project. The estimated cost is $538,000 according to the Daily Gazette.

Why Not Just Change Over the Tennis Courts?

The Town of Clifton Park has lined some of the existing tennis courts to be able to play pickleball. Supervisor Phil Barrett said,

The growth of the sport has steadily increased annually. To the point where now it’s people of all ages playing, there are leagues, there are groups that have been established in the area to play on a regular basis. And, now that the growth is there, we have run into some issues with the proximity of the existing courts to neighborhoods, and nearby homeowners are not thrilled.

The proposal to build in Veterans Park is ideal because it is away from neighborhoods and pickleball can be a loud sport.

Currently, the Town of Clifton Park is accepting suggestions and comments about the project before it moves forward. Then it would determine whether to build with one of the bids.