Pickleball courts are nearing completion

The courts have been under construction since August of last year, and are 95% done, chairman of The Cody Recreation Foundation Doug Weedin told the Cody City Council during its March 14 work session.

The only steps left for the courts’ completion are constructing a sidewalk between the courts and the road, surfacing the courts and installing windscreens, he said.

The foundation was able to raise $610,000 for building costs and due to higher prices, it has taken almost all of that money to get the courts built, he said.

“When we set out to do these courts five or six years ago, construction costs were about half that,” Weedin said. “That’s how much they’ve changed after the pandemic and everything else.”

About 60% of the money raised came from private sources with 40% from public sources, such as the city and county, he said.

Initially, final construction of the courts was held up by supply chain issues — namely getting the chain link fencing, which has since been installed.

Now, delays are dependent on the weather.

“The surfacing [of the courts] can’t happen until we get consistent temperatures around 50 degrees,” Weedin said. “We just don’t get those kinds of consistent temperatures until at least May, sometimes not until the end of July.”

Weedin also told the city council the foundation did not want to charge players to use the courts.

“We would prefer not to charge anything initially,” he said. “At least not in the first season [but] treat them like most tennis courts, basketball courts, anything that’s built on public land.”

He added that most of the people using the pickleball courts would probably be Rec Center members anyway.

“Initially, 100% of the people playing will be Rec Center members,” Weedin said, “because those people who play pickleball want to be able to play year-round, so they’ll stay members of the Rec Center because seven, eight months out of the year, they’re going to be playing inside.

“So, it’s kind of our preference that at least for this first season, don’t taint it with any kind of charge.”

If the city decides to host pickleball tournaments, there will be a charge for use of the courts, Weedin said.

“There’ll be an entry fee to play in any tournament,” he said.

Rick Manchester, the city’s parks, recreation, and public facilities director, agreed with Weedin.

“We’re going to be charging them rent to hold their tournament,” he said, explaining that the current fee for renting a court inside the Rec Center is $200 per court.

Maintenance of the courts will be taken care of by the parks department, Manchester said, but Weedin said the foundation would raise money to help also.

“The pickleball people generally keep the courts clean because they’re out there every day,” Weedin said. “[But] the recreation foundation is committed to making sure [upkeep] is properly funded nine, 10, 11 years down the road when we get to that point.”

For more information or to donate to the project, contact The Cody Recreation Foundation at (307) 527-3493.