In order to provide playing grounds for the nation's fastest-growing sport, the City and County of Honolulu has opened its first dedicated pickleball court at Keʻehi Lagoon.
The city's Department of Parks and Recreation held a blessing ceremony Monday for the grand opening of a dozen new courts.
Each new area is complete with lines and nets, which were repurposed from four underutilized tennis courts, according to DPR.
The department began adding pickleball lines to existing volleyball and tennis courts across Oʻahu in 2016, but that still required players to bring their own nets and coordinate with other users of the multipurpose courts.
“Our existing inventory of mostly mixed-use pickleball courts are very popular, so we anticipate these new, dedicated courts to be well used,” DPR Director Laura H. Thielen said in a press release on Monday.
The Keʻehi Lagoon project was just one step in DPR's larger plan towards repurposing 20 existing courts into nearly 70 pickleball courts across the island this year.
The next court conversions are scheduled for Kailua District Park, Ka‘ala Neighborhood Park and Makakilo Community Park.
The department is also looking to revise its court rules in an effort to “strike a balance amongst the various groups and organizations which utilize these public facilities.”
The online public survey to gather input on the draft court rules is open until July 21. Access to the survey can be found here.
