Pickleball players get a place to play
The Laguna Niguel City Council on Feb. 21 approved a request to refurbish and convert two tennis courts into pickleball courts at Crown Valley Elementary School.
About 25 people sat in the council chambers rooting for a nice spot to play the sport, a cross between tennis, table tennis and badminton.
Since it uses less court space and a Wiffle Ball, which slows things down, children and seniors enjoy the sport.
City staff plans to contact the Capistrano Unified School District for formal revision of its Joint Facilities Use Agreement to include the refurbished courts.
City Manager Tim Casey said the city has budgeted about $40,000 this year to get the courts back to working condition. Repairs include resurfacing, fixing cracked lining, netting, fence screening and addressing any drainage concerns. Pickleball players will have to find an alternate location to play during repairs.
There is no estimated project start date, Casey said.
A group of pickleball enthusiasts have been playing on the courts, which are tucked beside the Little League baseball fields, since July 2011. According to the staff report, they are in poor condition.
Casey said he thought the courts hadn’t been used in nearly 20 years.
Resident Bill Smith addressed the council and said that more than 280 players have shown up and asked to learn about the game.
“We never anticipated it would be that successful,” he said.
Judy Pyle, a resident and pickleball player, addressed the issue of noise.
“It’s the sound of people enjoying recreation,” she said. “It’s not noise.”
Councilman Linda Lindholm was surprised by the turnout for the sport.
“If you have energy and enthusiasm for it, I think I can have energy and enthusiasm for it,” she said, followed by cheers and applause.
The city hopes to mitigate traffic concerns by limiting the courts’ use during sporting events and during normally congested school pick-up and drop-off times.
The elementary school will be able to use the courts. School officials said public use is OK during instructional hours, but the school would get priority.
Smith said that pickleball players currently meet on the courts at 9 a.m. Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.
Twitter: @joannaclay