City to hold ceremony for new outdoor public pickleball courts

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV) -- The City of St. Joseph will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony to unveil its new outdoor pickleball courts.

The ceremony will be held at 2 p.m. on Monday, May 18.

The new public complex is located at North 22nd Street between James and Douglas streets, and previously housed tennis courts that were removed.

The eight-court complex doubles the City's inventory of dedicated pickleball space. Amenities include two shade structures, picnic tables, a water fountain with a bottle-filling station and LED stadium lighting.

McConnell and Associates served as the contractor for the $796,000 project, which was funded through the City's Capital Improvements Program and Park Sales Tax.

Pickleball continues to be one of the nation's fastest-growing sports. It's played on a smaller court and combines elements of tennis and ping-pong using paddles and a lightweight plastic ball.

"Pickleball just exploded here like in many other communities, and we can't have enough courts for it," Parks Director Jeff Atkins said. "We're proud to be able to provide this new amenity to the community.

The City also operates seven pickleball courts at the Bode Sports Complex, located at 2500 Southwest Parkway. Additionally, some tennis courts at Hyde Park and the Northside Complex are marked for pickleball play.

The courts will be open for public use immediately following the ceremony. All of the City's public pickleball courts are available on a first-come, first-served basis and cannot be reserved.