Letters to the Editor

Letter to the Editor | Gig Harbor needs more pickleball courts

The Peninsula Gardens article of October 18 contains a few inaccuracies that I’d like to address. The article states that “the plan includes only 6 courts.” Viewing the master plan in the article there are only 4 courts. The original offerings included a plan with 6 courts, but the final PenMet decision was sadly the 4-court option as shown in the photo.

Another correction: the Community Recreation Center will have “multi-use” courts. They will not be “pickleball” courts. There will be no nets in place. Players will be required to arrive, set up the nets and take them down after each play time to make room for basketball and other sports.

Lastly, the article states that there will be 25 outdoor courts here with the completion of Peninsula Gardens’ 6 courts. Wow! It is a common misconception. In reality there are NO public pickleball courts here. There are only public tennis courts and basketball courts where one can play pickleball if the courts have ghost lines for pickleball … and one brings and sets up their own net for a specified amount of time and then takes it down after each play. But dedicated PB courts — none! Gig Harbor has hundreds of daily pickleball players. South Sound Pickleball Club has over 400 paying members alone. NewNeighbors adds new players every week to their large roster. Competition for the courts is getting tough. All Gig Harbor existing courts are on tennis or basketball courts. At their new facility, presumably the CRC will provide nets for the shared courts being built now.

So to count: 6 dedicated pickleball courts currently under construction as part of the Gig Harbor Sports Complex. They will be the first. If PenMet builds 4 at Peninsula Gardens, there will be 10 in a few years. The other courts in the area are basketball and tennis courts: 10 at Sehmel, 4 at Hale’s Pass, 4 at Crescent Creek and unlike other sports, players provide the portable infrastructure.

An opinion: The need for facilities far outstrips demand because it’s a constantly growing sport: a welcoming sport that’s fun, competitive, easy to learn, low impact, super-social and for every age 6-90, where players teach each other and neophytes every single day of the week. So, courts fill up at 5:30 a.m. and well into the evening, every day of the week. There is demand because the sport offers more … for more.

Thank you for all you do!

Frank and Fran Conn

Gig Harbor

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