I’ve been to that facility multiple times and only once was the office open with a person working. My friend also visits there regularly and had the same experience; rarely is the office open even though the facility is staffed.
What we as pickleball players in the north want most during the winter is a place to play. City recreation centers are awesome but they aren’t pickleball specific. As the sport grows people want to be able to play on courts with dedicated nets and lines, with good lighting and most important with flexibility. We all want to play when we want. These new facilities allow us just that, options for open play, league play and most important, the ability to schedule play. Many places are catering to people so much they are offering the facility to us 24 hours a day and there’s even an app that allows court owners a way to rent out their home courts.
If your town has someone with enough money to open a facility you are getting more pickleball options than what the rec center offers, even if the cost is more than you’d like to pay. However, what the less costly rec centers do offer is trained staff and equipment to help if the worst were to happen, like it did on Monday night.
As we move forward with pickleball growth, if someone in your city or town builds a facility that allows you to play pickleball any time you like, check to make sure it has the proper equipment to save a life. If it doesn’t, do what my friend did and reach out to ask for the equipment to be in a public place. I’m certain the facility will do the right thing, like our local facility did, and take action to make sure staff is trained and equipment is easy to access.
