WALKER, Mich. — Pickleball's popularity has boomed in recent years, growing nearly 159% over the last three years, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association.
That rapid growth has put the city of Walker in a pickle.
Pickleball has been prohibited on the tennis courts at City Central Park in Walker for quite some time. As recently as Tuesday, the city has taken more drastic measures— closing the tennis courts entirely because of pickleball problems.
Neighbors to the Walker tennis court didn't want to talk to FOX 17 on camera, but off-camera said that living near the tennis court while pickleball is being played may as well be like living near a shooting range— with the constant noise.
The tennis courts back up to a cul-de-sac just behind the Walker City Complex.
At one point during the pandemic in 2020, the City of Walker thought they'd welcome in pickleballers to this spot.
“We wanted people to get outside during the pandemic, get some space, social distance, but also get some physical activity. With pickleball coming up and being popular, we actually tried to double our tennis courts into pickleball courts,” Communications Manager for the City of Walker Nicole DiDonato said.
Now, the city says they can't get pickleballers to leave, or follow posted signs. City officials tell FOX 17 that pickleballers have even brought their own nets, ignoring signs asking them not to play. This all has to do with the noise the sport makes.
“We didn’t realize the sound, of course— we were actually violating our own noise ordinance in the city,” DiDonato said.
The City of Walker promptly shut down the pickleball operation at the tennis court in order to be respectful of their own rules, and the neighborhood to the rear of the park.
“We were also putting a burden on our neighbors that really negatively affected their quality of life,” DiDonato said.
Now, the city has to close the courts to tennis players too, saying it was too hard to police the different players.
“It was extremely popular and we were glad we were able to provide that for folks,” DiDonato said.
Pickleball players still have a court they can use, around the corner from the tennis court. Another court is available at Walker Community Park.
However, for the time being, the tennis court is closed. City leaders explain that they're currently working on their Parks and Recreation Master Plan to include more pickleball courts in the future to meet demand. Those courts would be planned away from neighborhoods and could be opening as soon as next summer.
“We know that this is a priority for many of the residents in our city, which is why we want to do it the right way this time,” DiDonato said.
