The Town of Okotoks, Alta., is dealing with an explosion in the demand for pickleball courts, as well as in the noise associated with them.
Rob Burns had been living in his Okotoks home for two decades before the courts next to his house were converted to pickleball courts.
He says the constant racket has ruined his quality of life.
“The hard ball and a hard paddle makes a really irritating noise. People don’t understand how irritating the pitch of it is and when you get 20 of them out there, it’s pretty noisy,” Burns said.
In April, Burns took his concerns to an Okotoks town council meeting.
The surging demand for court space combined with the noise has left the town in a bit of a pickle.
“I could probably build 50 courts right now and they would be full,” said Okotoks Mayor Tanya Thorn.
“It is certainly gaining in popularity and we are seeing a growth in popularity across all age demographics. It’s definitely a new demand for that sport and the thing about pickleball that’s great is that anybody can play it,” Thorn said.
The town voted to reduce the hours pickleball can be played at two outdoors courts. The sound is still there most of the day.
The hours at Bob Anderson Courts were reduced from 8 a.m.-10 p.m. daily to 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Monday to Thursday and Saturday, and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Fridays and Sundays.
The signage has not yet been updated, but will be prior to next season.
“I’m glad to see that they’re going to do something. Get rid of it hopefully by next year,” Burns said.
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“It hasn’t made that much difference until it’s gone. You can have 20 out there and it’s bad. You get two or three out there and it’s still irritating because of the pitch of it,” Burns said.
Okotoks’ mayor says residents have told her this strikes a good balance as the town looks towards a more permanent solution.
“I encouraged our residents who were pushing back to us having to change. I said: ‘Take your lawn chair and go sit up by the pickleball courts and sit there for four hours, and you let me know at the end of it how you feel about it,”” Thorn said, “because I can play for four hours and I don’t notice it but it’s very different when you’re not playing and you’re just sitting.”
Thorn said the town is locking the courts so that they are closed at a certain time. She said the town has been working with the local pickleball clubs.
“It’s an interim solution at this moment in time,” Thorn said.
“The neighbourhood was happy to be heard. They felt it was a good balance. The neighbourhood wasn’t about (to) get rid of pickleball. It was give us a bit of a balance for quality of life. It was going from eight in the morning until nine or 10 o’clock at night,” Thorn said.
The town has added four indoor courts at Foothills Centennial Centre, four indoor courts in the Okotoks Curling Rink (available April-August), and two outdoor courts at Ecole Beausoleil for use with portable nets.
At the Oct. 10 meeting, Okotoks Town Council approved the site selection of a new pickleball and tennis facility to be located on 5.45 acres at 10 Chinook Arch Way.
“We are really excited about the new facility. We are working with our local Okotoks pickleball club,” Thorn said.
This location is suited to offer a combination of indoor and outdoor courts and is bordered by schools to the west and east, with an anticipated future school to the south and multi-family and commercial development to the north.
The town says the facility will have the capacity to host provincial and international tournaments, drawing significant economic benefits to the local economy.
The project is to be operated by others as a not-for-profit facility.
The town’s contribution to the $8 million facility is approved at $2 million. The difference is to be funded through a combination of partnerships, grants, and donations.
Construction is expected to start in 2024.
Pickleball players in Calgary now have another place to get their paddles out, as the city’s first dedicated pickleball facility opened in October.
The Calgary Pickleball Centre has 12 new courts and offers many styles of play, tournaments, private lessons and clinics.
“The demand is exceptional. The pickle community is desperate,” said Calgary Pickleball Centre general manager Randy Popplestone.
“There’s so many different opportunities for other sports that have an established following already that have prior negotiations and contracts and deals with other community centres and gyms, but pickleball has taken a backseat.”
Popplestone says over the past four years, pickleball has been the fastest-growing sport in the world.
“I think it’s here to stay,” Popplestone said.
The Pickleball Centre is located adjacent to Deerfoot City, and for those worried about the notorious pickleball noise, the facility has thousands of soundproofing squares.
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