Yorkville ready to score a pair of pickleball courts

Location switched to Grande Reserve’s Rotary Park

This map shows the planned location for a pair of pickleball courts in Rotary Park along Grande Trail in Yorkville's Grande Reserve subdivision. (Yorkville Parks and Recreation Department)

YORKVILLE – Residents are expected to be playing pickleball later this summer on a pair of brand-new courts in the fast-growing Grande Reserve subdivision’s Rotary Park.

Originally eyed for Stepping Stones Park next to Grande Reserve Elementary School, the Yorkville Parks and Recreation Department has settled on Rotary Park to install the playing surfaces.

The two courts would be located along Grande Trail, between the park’s baseball diamond and a playground. There is a parking lot nearby and space for adding two more courts in the future.

The parks department will use $50,000 in land-cash money from the Grande Reserve developer to purchase the materials needed to build the courts, Superintendent of Parks Scott Sleezer said.

The actual construction would be handled by the city’s park maintenance staff, Sleezer said.

Work would include installing the stone base and asphalt playing surface, nets and posts, fencing, benches and landscaping, Sleezer said.

The courts must be constructed in Grande Reserve because land-cash funds from the development are being used, Sleezer said.

Director of Parks and Recreation Tim Evans said Rotary Park was selected because it is centrally located in the subdivision, is easily accessible from Bristol Ridge Road and already has parking and a playground.

The Yorkville Park Board signed off on the plan at its Jan. 20 meeting. Final approval is expected next month from the Yorkville City Council. Construction would get underway in the spring.

Park board member Dan Lane said the sport is very popular and envisions people lined up to get time on a court.

“It’s going to be very crowded,” Lane said. “You are going to see a groundswell of people waiting to play.”

Sleezer said common courtesy will need to be the guide.

“People will have to learn to regulate themselves and to take turns,” Sleezer said.

Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in America. It’s easy to learn, popular with people of all ages and both a healthy and social activity.

The sport combines elements of tennis, ping-pong and badminton. Two or four player use wooden or composite paddles to volley a perforated polymer ball, similar to a wiffle ball, over a low net on a hard surfaced court.

The game has been around since 1965, but has flourished in recent years.