The City of Victoria will set up dedicated pickleball courts in Beacon Hill Park, responding to an outcry after it banned pickleball play in James Bay’s Todd Park because of noise complaints.
In what is being billed as a pilot project for the sport, which is surging in popularity, the city has agreed to establish at least two courts on what used to be the Arbutus Way parking lot near Goodacre Lake inside Beacon Hill Park.
“It’s very exciting news. It really came together quite nicely,” said Connie McCann, president of the Victoria Regional Pickleball Association. “It is quite a nice space.”
McCann said they understand the arrangement is just a pilot project, and they are hoping they might be able to squeeze in as many as three courts.
“I’m very pleased there’s a resolution,” she said. “And I have to say the city staff were working hard to find a solution, but they didn’t have much money. What I admire was their thinking outside the box.”
Thomas Soulliere, the city’s director of parks, recreation and facilities, noted the space in the park is closed to vehicle traffic and currently vacant.
“We are working with representatives of the local pickleball organization to finalize the design and construct the new courts as quickly as we can,” he said. “Depending on the weather, the surface should be ready for play in the next couple of weeks. The city appreciates the growing popularity of this sport and looks forward to ensuring quality facilities are available to meet this demand.”
The city has said it will clean the space and then paint the pickleball lines as well as provide temporary fencing. The cost will be covered within the existing operating budget for the department.
The regional association has said it will contribute nets and a lock box if needed to store equipment.
The pickleball issue hit the headlines last month when the game was banned from Todd Park in James Bay due to noise complaints from nearby residents.
The players who used that park — the city had more than 1,000 hours of block bookings for pickleball at Todd last year — were relocated to tennis courts at Central Park.
That caught the attention of a number of city councillors who went to bat for the pickleball players and suggested it might be time to try a pilot project at the heavily used Beacon Hill tennis courts.
McCann said that was never going to be a good fit for either tennis or pickleball players.
“I have to say Coun. [Ben] Isitt’s heart was in the right place. He was looking for an immediate solution and he was looking for a low-cost solution, but that location was very problematic and the association will not go in that direction,” said McCann. “We will not go in the direction of trying to take tennis courts away.
“We just won’t do that and the city staff knew that. And so we all worked together to get another solution.”
McCann will keep pushing the city to expand its pickleball plans for Topaz Park.
The city has already committed to build at least six pickleball courts in the next phase of improvements to Topaz Park. The design process will begin this year and construction will begin in 2023.
McCann said they could build double that, given the huge surge in popularity of pickleball in recent years.
“Topaz is the jewel,” she said. “That is the competitive player space for tournaments and it will be such a win for the city when it’s built.”
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