https://www.instagram.com/p/CGGAK4WHpMR/
Pickleball is a popular sport in Utah County. This fun and quick-paced sport has people of all ages picking up their paddles.
Local government officials have opened numerous pickleball courts to try and keep up with the demand. The cities of Lindon and Orem have pickleball players coming from all over the valley to use their courts. Lindon has a total of four pickleball courts and one tennis court. Some pickleball players have been so desperate for a court that they’ve tried to tape pickleball lines on the tennis court to play.
“I had to talk with a few of our patrons from different areas of the valley,” Heath Bateman says, “who had come and taped it themselves.”
Orem currently has 10 pickleball courts and plans on making more.
“Pickleball players want more courts. It is a growing sport and it’s very popular,” Reed Price says. “And we’re doing what we can to identify funding for them.”
When soccer courts closed during the pandemic, Terry Bailey had to find a new sport to play. A few of his friends introduced him to pickleball, and now he can’t stop playing.
“And there’s very few sports like that,” Terry Bailey says, “where you can have consistent competition, regardless of age or gender.”
For pickleball enthusiasts, the main issue is not having enough courts. For local neighbors, the problem has to do with the constant pickleball popping noises. Players have been on the courts as early as 6 AM; it’s hard for neighbors to sleep.
Batemen tells us, “We want to make sure that those who live there for lots of years without the constant noise of pickleball are respected, as well as those who want more courts and opportunities to play.”
Government officials ask that players continue to share the courts and be considerate of those around them.
