The Harbor News spoke with the Parks and Recreation Department about the latest plan to bring more pickleball courts to Clinton.

On July 5, the Town Council will hold a town meeting to approve allocating funding for the next round of projects using COVID-19 relief money. One project that might be getting funding is new pickleball courts at the Indian River Recreation Complex.

Pickleball is a racket sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong. Each player uses a solid paddle to hit a plastic ball with holes in it back and forth across the net. Because the courts are half the size of a standard tennis court, they’re often overlaid on existing tennis courts or, in Clinton’s case, painted on the basketball court at the Indian River Complex.

The sport has exploded in interest over the last five or so years among all ages, but it’s become particularly popular with older people who wish to stay active with a fun game that is easy to pick up and learn.

The use of COVID-19 relief money to make more room for pickleball will be welcome news for many in town. In February, the Town Council unanimously voted to use $10,000 of the relief funds to conduct a study to find suitable locations for pickleball courts after a vocal contingent of residents spoke up about the lack of availed courts in town.

At a meeting in May, the Park and Recreation Commission (PRC) recommended resurfacing the basketball courts at the Indian River Complex as a viable area for pickleball. A total of $146,000 is proposed to be allocated for the project.

Parks and Recreation Department Director Robert Potter explained that the earlier study showed that there was only a handful of potential places to put courts in town and that several of those potential spaces would have high-cost estimates.

Potter said that the PRC has opted to fully replace the basketball courts at Indian River with three more pickleball courts. He added that this move was the most cost-effective solution.

“Some of the other potential places were on Board of Ed[ucation] property, so this way people don’t need to worry about things like if school is in session and they don’t have access for part of the day and things like that,” Potter said.

As for the basketball court, he said the court at the complex was not a regulation court and used to be a parking lot before it was a basketball court. Potter said that there is still a basketball court at the Peters Complex and that a hoop in the parking lot at the beach will be transferred to where the beach’s bocce court is.

“That will just be a hoop to shoot around on. It’s not a full court, and nobody really uses the bocce court, so by moving the hoop, we also gain parking spaces. That’s really a win-win,” Potter said.

The use of the money for the pickleball courts still has to be formally approved.

The Town Council will hold a public hearing on June 21 (after press time for this article over the other potential COVID-19 relief projects. A town meeting to approve the funding will be held Wednesday, July 5.

Other potential projects to be approved include replacing the artificial turf at Indian River Recreational Complex, replacing bleachers at the Peters Complex, work at the beach bathhouse, continued nonprofit assistance, the public safety radio project, paving, and small public works projects, according to Town Manager Karl Kilduff.