POCK! City to build eight new pickleball courts at Beban Park

Eaton said pickleball is very popular in Nanaimo and people will travel from all parts of the central Vancouver Island area to come to Nanaimo to play with friends or meet new people. Photo: Lauryn Mackenzie / CHLY 101.7fm

Amidst the rise in popularity of pickleball, the City of Nanaimo is moving its six pickleball courts to a new, quieter location.

Construction of eight new pickleball courts is underway at Beban Park after the city heard complaints from residents near the Beaufort Park area about the racket the Beaufort courts there were making.

In December 2023, Nanaimo city council voted to use $518,000 to create eight new outdoor pickleball courts at Beban Park to replace the courts at Beaufort Park.

The project is partially funded by the Province of BC’s Community Works Fund through the Canada Community-Building Fund.

The new eight courts will join the two dedicated pickleball courts already at Beban Park.

CHLY spoke with Mayor Leonard Krog, about the new pickleball courts.

“You're going to see two additional courts, as opposed to the six that have been used at Beauford [Park], which is very positive,” Krog said. “So eight courts, and the work has already begun, we hope to have it completed in October.”

He said he has heard from many people who want the Beaufort Park courts gone due to the noise the games make.

“​​There was a significant expression of concern from the local residents, whose lives were very much disrupted by pickleball,” Krog said. “I certainly took time on many occasions, probably half a dozen overall, to drive there at various times of the day just to listen myself, to get some sense of what the neighbourhood was feeling.”

Krog said now there is a general recommendation that courts should be at least a minimum of 105 meters away from residential areas.

“At Beban Park, in particular, the new courts will be 260 meters away, so we're hopefully not going to hear or see any conflict between residents who want the peace and quiet of the neighbourhoods and the active members of the pickleball community,” he said.

He said the new location is a logical choice as Beban Park is already a recreational hub in the city and will be a popular location for the courts.

Krog said although has seen the rise in popularity of the sport, he has yet to try out pickleball for himself.

“I do not play pickleball, but everyone is telling me I should,” he said. “It's been highly recommended, but given the incredibly competitive, noisy nature of the sport, I'm not sure I could fit it into my schedule.”

More of a badminton player, Krog said it was a surprise to see the rise in popularity in Nanaimo.

“I can certainly see the attraction of it and know lots of people who play it with incredible enthusiasm. It has become one of the most dramatic changes in the recreational sporting world I think I've seen in my lifetime,” Krog said. “It's gone from nobody knowing what the hell you're talking about to everybody's talking pickleball.”

He said as the sport is growing like weeds, he does not doubt that there will be an increase in demand for more courts.

“You know, the $518,000 is a fair bit of money, but in comparison, for instance, to putting in a swimming pool or an ice arena, it's a pretty cheap way of providing further recreational opportunities for our citizens,” he said.

He said for the price of the new courts, having seen the cost of other construction projects that the city has had to face, they are getting a good value for the money being spent on the project. He also said he thinks the amount of people who are going to be utilizing the courts are going to get a good value for the money being spent.

“At $518,000 that's going to cover the eight courts with a specialized sports surfacing, it'll provide a large viewing area in the center of the courts for both benches and bleachers and a 10-foot perimeter fencing as well as four-foot court dividers,” he said. “So I think we're getting a lot of bang for that buck, to use the old cliche.”

Krogs said, that while his destiny with pickleball will no doubt come at some point, but not in the immediate future, he suspects these courts will quickly be full and active.

Dave Eaton is a local pickleball player in Nanaimo and has been a part of the Nanaimo Pickleball Club for about 15 years now. He said the club first started about 17 years ago with about 100 people playing the sport.

He said in the last ten years he has seen the growth in the popularity of the sport and the club now has about 400 members. 

“It's grown pretty quickly, and it's because most people can pick up a paddle, they can get out to a pickleball court outdoors for free, and they can start playing right away, have some fun with their friends and family, and if they want they can take lessons,” Eaton said. “They can get into competition if they want to. But it's a fairly easy sport for most people to pick up and learn and have fun with it.”

He also said pickleball is a very sociable sport as most games are played in doubles. He said pickleball is very popular in Nanaimo and people will travel from all parts of the central Vancouver Island area to come to Nanaimo to play with friends or meet new people.

“They're also looking, maybe, looking for a calibre of play that suits them better. Maybe they're an advanced player, looking for a stronger competitive situation, it could be just for friends,” he said.

He said there is a huge demand for more courts in the community as more and more people start playing the sport and that there are an estimated 1,000 people who play in Nanaimo.

Along with being a member of the club, Eaton is on a committee that works with the City of Nanaimo Park and Recreation Department to increase the number of pickleball courts in Nanaimo. When the committee first started in 2014, they converted a tennis court at Beban Park into two pickleball courts, which he said was a huge success.

He said the courts at Beban Park were the first courts dedicated to pickleball on the island.

Eaton said the committee which meets regularly with the city worked with them on the eight new pickleball courts at Beban Park.

He said the new eight courts will be different from what the city has done in the past with the other pickleball courts as each court will be divided by a chain link fence.

“If you've seen pickleball played at almost every other location, there isn't divider fencing,” he said. “So it's a bit of a calamity sometimes when the balls are travelling back and forth between courts, and it's also a safety hazard. So we were able to work with the city to make sure we had that feature at these courts.”

He said the eight courts will be enough to replace the six that will be closed down at Beaufort Park. He said there is currently no closing date for the courts at Beaufort Park and it will be up to the city to figure out what they want to do with the space after.

He said there is a lot of excitement for the new courts as these courts will be a hub for players.

“Pickleball is most popular in a hub situation, where rather than having two courts here and two courts there and three courts there, it's better to have a large number in one area,” he said. “So people show up, they drive or ride their bike there, and they get there, and they just put their paddle into a rack, and in order of who's up next, and you just start playing with whoever's there.”

He said as the sport grows, the committee will continue to work with the city to improve the sport for players in the community. He said the Nanaimo Pickleball Club is always welcoming new members to come down and play a round.

Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.