Fans of Washington’s official state sport will have even more places to play pickleball come October.
Bellingham’s Parks and Recreation department will be resurfacing one of two remaining tennis courts at Cornwall Memorial Park into three pickleball courts. The remaining tennis court will be resurfaced into a full-size court but will be lined for pickleball as well.
The project will cost $165,000 from the Park Impact Fee and should be complete by October, according to a staff memo presented to Bellingham City Council on Monday, Feb. 26. No trees will be removed in the process.
In 2018, the parks department converted two tennis courts at the park into six pickleball courts.
At a city council committee meeting, parks and recreation Director Nicole Oliver said the existing pickleball courts in Cornwall Park have been “very, very, very, very popular,” but they heard from several tennis players during the public comment period in December about their desire to still have places to play tennis in the park.
The “compromise” was keeping one tennis court, and converting the other into pickleball courts, Oliver said.
Construction will begin in late summer.
Council member Lisa Anderson asked at Monday’s meeting about what this project means for the total number of tennis courts in Bellingham parks.
Oliver said the only tennis courts that aren’t also striped for pickleball are in Whatcom Falls Park, but the only refinished pickleball-only courts are in Cornwall Memorial Park and soon, Cordata Park.
Charlotte Alden is CDN’s general assignment/enterprise reporter; reach her at charlottealden@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 123.
