Landscape architects ESI are putting the final touches on a plan for eight pickleball courts at Community Park. With that plan in hand the city should be able to put the project out for bid by the end of February, Parks & Cemetery Director Bruce Cox told the city council Feb. 6.

Over the last few months ESI has generated several versions of the plan but for this last iteration they  have gone with a minimal, “bare bones” approach, something that was suggested by the city council.

City Councilmembers Robyn Mecham and Spencer Summerhays had been approached by members of the pickleball community who basically said they didn’t need any extra bells and whistles, just somewhere they could play without having to travel to West Bountiful to do so, they said. The city has no plans to host pickleball tournaments at the park.

“Park benches, courts and lighting, there’s nothing else; We pretty much cut everything else out,” Cox said. A future parking lot area will remain as grass until it is developed.

Changes to the design have included moving the proposed courts site further west than originally anticipated to avoid having to move a main irrigation line in the park.

“That was a costly item of having to move that, excavate out and replace that irrigation main line,” Cox said. “We’ve found some good cost-saving, things that I think we’ll be happy when we go out to bid.”

Summerhays suggested the extras be included in the bid as add alternates additional items of work that may be awarded as part of the contract if the bids come within the budget specified in the contract. Those extras include shade structures, bathrooms and a drinking fountain.

Cox did not have an accurate estimate of how much the project is expected to cost. At the meeting speculation ran from $50,000 per court to much higher than that.

“Until we put this out and get some actual bids, we’re all just guessing,” Cox said. 

The city has applied for a $400,000 federal land and water conservation grant which would help fund the project along with a proposed playground, Cox said.

Once the plan is finalized and the city has an accurate estimate of just how much the project will cost, the city will reach out to the community to help raise the additional funds needed, City Manager Brant Hanson said.

In a survey of Centerville residents, pickleball was the third-highest amenity people wanted to see, Mayor Clark Wilkinson said. In his own research he had found that pickleball is more popular in Utah than in any other state, Cox said.

There are more than 4.8 million pickleball players in the U.S., according to a 2022 Sports & Fitness Industry Association report. Pickleball grew nearly 40 percent in popularity between 2019 and 2021.