Pickleball players push for outdoor courts in Andover

A grassroots push to get outdoor pickleball courts built is underway in Andover, where players pack the community center twice a week for indoor games but lack spaces to play under the sun.

The citizen-led effort won support last week when the city's Parks and Recreation Commission selected City Hall for a six- to eight-court facility. It also recommended waiting four years before putting blade to soil to ensure the far north metro suburb has enough money to pay for it.

Players like Jim Peden, 59, of Andover, said there is a pressing need for the amenity, and he is hoping a big turnout will persuade the City Council to move up the construction schedule when it considers the commission's recommendation later this month.

"The north metro needs more places to play," said Peden, a founding member of the North Star Pickleball Association, which has grown to more than 300 members since it formed a little over a year ago. "If people have never seen or played, obviously they don't think there is a need. Many of the nearest courts are always full."

Peden said it is common for people to wait in line to play on outdoor courts in neighboring cities such as Anoka, Coon Rapids and Champlin, even in early morning.

Park Commission members said they sympathized but there isn't money in the budget.

Once deemed a game played only by seniors, the paddle sport combining elements of badminton, pingpong and tennis is attracting players of all ages and abilities. Pickleball is now one of the fastest-growing sports in America with more than 4.2 million participants, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. Just 20% of players are over age 65.

Peden, who played tennis in high school, picked up pickleball four years ago after his wife was introduced to the game over lunch. He's been a regular at the Andover Community Center ever since, and he has lots of company. Pre-COVID, the center had 60 to 80 players of all skill levels show up for open play. This year, the center added a new gym and expanded from nine to 12 indoor courts. Attendance has remained strong, said Erick Sutherland, the center's facility manager.

"It's amazing to see the skill, talent and athleticism," Sutherland said. But "they are anxious to get outside."

Andover officials plan to "save up" for outdoor courts over the next four years by setting aside park dedication fees from new development, said Assistant Public Works Director Todd Haas. The cost ranges from $189,000 to $453,000 depending on whether the facility includes six or eight courts and other features such as lights, shelters and fencing between courts.

As Andover waits, other suburbs are finding they can't build outdoor courts fast enough. In recent years, they have sprouted up in Brooklyn Park, Woodbury, Forest Lake and Blaine. Some, like Roseville, are putting pickleball lines on tennis courts for shared use.

Eagan built eight courts at Quarry Park in 2018; this summer, it is building another nine at Rahn Park. That might make the south metro suburb the "Pickleball Capital of Minnesota," said Andrew Pimental, director of the city's Parks and Recreation department.

Record development over a number of years allowed the city to amass funds to invest in parks, and residents said they wanted pickleball, Pimental said.

"The community is very vocal, and they are not afraid to tell you what they want," he said. When plans for the Rahn Park facility were under consideration, he said, "60 people showed up to tell us what color the courts should be and the distance from out line to fence."

In neighboring Apple Valley, where some of the metro's first outdoor pickleball courts were built in Hayes Park in 2012, the city is accepting bids for an eight-court facility at Johnny Cake Ridge Park. They are expected to be open by August.

Cambridge built four outdoor courts in Central Green Park in 2016. Last year, at the request of the local pickleball association and citing "high usage by residents," the city put in four more along with a half basketball court that could be converted into two more courts if needed, said Todd Schwab, the city's Public Works and Utilities director.

Schwab said the Cambridge Area Pickleball Association helps cover some costs for construction and maintenance expenses. Peden wondered if players could raise money to speed up construction in Andover.

"We spend lots and lots of money on youth sports and youth facilities, and these pickleball courts people are building are … [for] adults, seniors," he told the parks commission. "If I wrote you a check for $450,000, could we build this sooner? There is a need for this facility. It's not going to be a facility that you'd build and sits empty."

Tim Harlow • 612-673-7768