Tennis, anyone?

COEUR d’ALENE  — In the two years Anne Hadin has been playing pickleball, she’s made a lot of friends — enough to fill the Coeur d’Alene Public Library Community Room.

And that was only a fraction of them.

“It’s a really fantastic community,” she said, motioning to the crowd at a recent Parks and Recreation meeting. “Pickleball people are the best.”

“It’s like family,” she added.

Hadin and fellow pickleballers would love more courts in Coeur d’Alene and the city agrees.

The City Council on Tuesday approved an amended Memorandum of Understanding with the Inland Northwest Pickleball Club that will allow for converting four tennis courts at Cherry Hill Park into 12 pickleball courts.

Councilwoman Christie Wood said pickleball players are “incredibly passionate” about their sport.

“It definitely has me intrigued. I need to get out there,” she said.

Councilman Woody McEvers asked about any pushback from tennis players.

“I haven’t heard any complaints,” Parks Director Bill Greenwood said.

The club will be responsible for costs for courts, posts and nets. It will also crack seal and resurface the remaining two tennis courts, which would no longer have temporary stripes for pickleball.

Greenwood said pickleball is growing in popularity.

The Inland Northwest Pickleball Club was established in 2014 and today has nearly 600 members in Idaho and Washington. 

The 2023 Coeur d’Alene Classic pickleball tournament at Cherry Hill Park had about 450 players, ages 12 to 84, who came from 17 states.

“I think that’s pretty cool they pull in that many people from across the nation,” Greenwood said.

Pickleball is one of the fastest-growing sports in the U.S., with an estimated 36 million players nationwide.

The addition of pickleball courts was among the top requests in the city’s parks master plan.

Cherry Hill is also targeted for better use.

“Cherry Hill Community Park should be expanded and improved to provide more recreational opportunities and to serve a larger segment of the community,” the plan says.

The council voted 6-0 to approve the MOU and the club plans to work on the courts next year.

“We’re ready to get this converted. We have the funds, we're ready to go,” said Craig Woolf, INPC president.

Councilwoman Kiki Miller said she has seen the crowds grow at local pickleball tournaments

“I love that I see all age groups of people," she said.

Miller supported a partnership with the INPC. She said the sport is affordable and gets people out and moving.

“It really is for everyone,” she said.

“It’s a family sport, no doubt,” Greenwood said.

The city and the club initially identified a location west of the existing courts and south of Fire Station 3 for the club to build seven new pickleball courts. That MOU was previously approved by the City Council. 

However, it later learned that the location will be encroached on by the Idaho Transportation Department for new on- and off-ramps for Interstate 90.

The amended MOU will guarantee the club a location to build the courts. After construction, the courts will belong to the city, which will handle maintenance and repairs. 

The courts will be available for public use.

The city has 10 standalone pickleball courts between Memorial Park and Northshire Park, four shared tennis/pickleball courts at McEuen and Northshire parks, and 16 temporary courts, most of those at Cherry Hill.

The new courts will help the club to host larger tournaments and attract a higher caliber of player, said Craig Woolf, INPC president.

“As you move up in levels, they’re not going to play on temporary courts,” he said.

Greenwood said even after the conversion, the city will still have 10 tennis courts. The three at Ramsey Park are scheduled to be resurfaced and repaired next year.

Asked if any “tennis people” had complained about the planned change, Greenwood said no. The city does not have a tennis tournament. 

“It’s hard to find tennis people,” he said.