More pickleball is coming to Painswick Park in Barrie's south end.
Council gave final approval Monday night to add eight new pickleball courts with lighting to the four already there, along with removing the existing soccer field, relocating the existing ball diamond to the soccer pitch, expanding the existing parking area and adding new accessible pathways with lighting.
The total cost is $1.9 million, plus $25,480 annually to maintain and operate, beginning in 2024.
The 12 dedicated pickleball courts at Painswick Park would be suitable for local and regional tournaments. The facility will have flexible seating and visitor capacity for a minimum of 50 participants and 100 spectators for a local pickleball tournament and 250 participants for a regional tournament.
The total cost required for 12 pickleball courts, eight new, is estimated at $1.639 million.
A total project budget of $1.91 million is needed to cover all costs and contingencies associated with the construction of the proposed pickleball facility and associated park renewal at Painswick Park, located at the corner of Big Bay Point Road and Ashford Drive.
Staff will host what the city calls a public information centre to seek public feedback on the Painswick Park preliminary design for a pickleball facility, prior to any work proceeding there.
Painswick Park is about 10 acres in size and has a playground, a major soccer field, a baseball diamond, two major lighted senior ball diamonds under construction, two tennis courts and a granular parking lot.
The city offers drop-in pickleball sessions at various community centres throughout Barrie. There are dedicated courts at Red Path and Painswick parks, share-used courts at Greenfield, Sandringham and Strabane parks. In all, the city has 11 existing pickleball courts in its parks, with six dedicated courts, and five shared-use courts.
The city plans to construct an additional four dedicated pickleball courts at Eastview Community Park, to have a total of 15 courts in 2022.
Pickleball combines elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis/ping pong. It’s played with a paddle and a wiffle ball, a perforated plastic ball, on a badminton-sized court with a slightly modified tennis net. Pickleball can be played as doubles or singles and by all age and skill levels for both recreation and as a social activity.
The Barrie Pickleball Club has said it has about 450 members in and around the city.
