NORTH WHITEHALL TWP., Pa.— North and South Whitehall townships are each one step closer to getting new pickleball courts.
Both townships have secured funding for new courts. North Whitehall supervisors voted to fund them at their meeting last week, and South Whitehall has gotten a grant to help cover the cost.
- North and South Whitehall townships have secured funding for new pickleball courts
- North Whitehall supervisors voted to fund converting a basketball court at Laurys Firehouse Park into three pickleball courts
- South Whitehall received a grant for improvements to Vistas Park. Plans for the improvements include constructing a pickleball court
Pickleball resembles badminton and tennis, but players use smaller courts, wooden paddles and perforated plastic balls.
The sport has grown dramatically in the past five years: currently, 4.8 million people across all age ranges play the game, according to USA Pickleball, which is the National Governing Body for the sport in the United States.
North Whitehall courts
At their Feb. 6 meeting, North Whitehall Township supervisors voted to spend $130,000 to convert one of the basketball courts at Laurys Firehouse Park into three new pickleball courts. Those funds were in the 2023 budget.
The project initially was going to cost $260,000, but the township did not get the grant that would have covered half the cost.
The original plan would have included sports court lighting and solar parking lot lighting.
Township Manager Randy Cope said the current estimated cost of the project is just under $130,000.
Cope said the project could possibly be done by the end of May, but it depends on when the contractors can start building and the weather. He said he has not had a conversation with the contractors about the timeline.
South Whitehall courts
South Whitehall Township received a grant from the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources to make improvements at the Vistas Park.
The plan for the improvements includes a pickleball court, pedestrian walkways and a nature play area, according to township Manager Tom Petrucci.
The township will spend about $77,000 total on the project, and it will be ADA compliant.
Petrucci said in an email that the project is in the early stages of development and planning. He did not give an estimate for when the project will be completed.
Pickleball nearby
Pickleball is popular throughout the Lehigh Valley.
The Facebook group Lehigh Valley Pickleball has more than 900 followers. Upper Macungie Park & Recreation Board Chair Bret Spangler, who runs the page, said the pickleball courts at the township’s Grange Park often are used by more than 50 people on nice days.
In 2017, a group of residents from Upper Macungie Township persuaded the supervisors to install the Grange Park courts by showing up at meetings and putting on a presentation about why it was a good idea.
In an earlier interview, Spangler advised residents who want their townships to install pickleball courts to do the same.
“It's really [about] getting the township and municipalities to understand the dynamics of it and how easy it is,” Spangler said.
