SUN CITY – Sun City’s newest sport got a major upgrade on June 8.
More than 100 residents and community leaders showed up with umbrellas to cut a ribbon (symbolically) at the formerly named Tall Oaks Tennis Center (now renamed Tall Oaks Courts). The occasion was the unveiling of eight new pickleball courts at the center. Because of rain on celebration day, the club held its inaugural event on the new facilities the next day. It was Pickleball 101, demonstrations and practice for Sun City players new to the game of pickleball.
“This event answered my prayers for the last two years,” said Lou Farinella, Pickleball Club president. “This whole project began in 2014 actually, and we’re grateful that everything came together here today.”
Club president is Lou Farinella and his officers (L to R) Linda Laux, Roni Schmidt, and Jan Robinson present a themed cake at the pickleball courts’ recent grand opening. (Photo by Tony Pratt/Sun Day)
Pickleball is played by thousands of people in communities in the Sun Belt, where it is a year-round sport. Sun City’s Pickleball Club was formed more than a decade ago, and began its activities at public recreational locations in Huntley. Later, the Pickleball and Tennis Clubs worked out an agreement to share courts at the Tall Oaks site. Eventually, the Pickleball Club asked the board of directors to convert two of the tennis Courts into eight pickleball courts. The board agreed, and an $81,000 project to convert Tall Oaks tennis courts 1 and 2 to pickleball and add new lights on two other tennis courts was completed on June 7.
Tall Oaks Courts now is the site of six tennis courts and eight pickleball courts. Four pickleball courts fit on one tennis court.
The new pickleball court surfaces are painted a sky blue color on the two courts next to the Tall Oaks parking lot. The Pickleball Club contributed $30,500 toward the cost of the work. “We have spent additional money to buy a storage shed for our nets and equipment, ball holders, scoreboards, seating, and other items,” Farinella said.
At the celebration, Farinella acknowledged that this project has been accompanied by controversy between his club and the Tennis Club.
“One of the main topics of conversation has been parking. We believe we have plenty of parking in the parking lot, on the streets nearby, and in the Prairie Lodge lot a short block away. It’s like parking a short distance away and getting some good exercise walking to the courts. The celebration is an understanding that Pickleball needed a place of its own,” said Board President Dennis O’Leary.
He and most members of the board attended the celebration, including Russ Howard, newly elected board member who also is a past president of the Pickleball Club.
According to Farinella, the conversion process included filling cracks in the tennis surface, removing post holes for tennis, installing post holes for pickleball, and re-painting the surface with a primer and two coats of blue, green and white paint.
6 Comments
As soon as I found this internet site I went on reddit to share some of the love with them.
I’m amazed, I have to admit. Seldom do I encounter a blog that’s both equally educative and entertaining, and without a doubt, you have hit the nail on the head. The issue is an issue that too few folks are speaking intelligently about. I’m very happy I stumbled across this during my hunt for something concerning this.
Great delivery. Great arguments. Keep up the good work.
My brother recommended I would possibly like this blog. He was totally right. This publish actually made my day. You can not consider just how much time I had spent for this info! Thank you!
If some one wants to be updated with most recent technologies afterward he must be visit this website and be up to date daily.
Marvelous, what a website it is! This weblog presents helpful data to us, keep it up.