FREDERICKTOWN — Four new pickleball courts are coming to Fredericktown after receiving $41,000 from the State of Ohio’s nature works grant program.
Pickleball, a growing sport budding throughout the country, was brought up as an idea that turned into a spark three years ago, Fredericktown Recreation District Park Director Jim Blanchard said.
“Pickleball in a general sense is gaining a lot of traction,” Blanchard said. “A lot of young people are playing now.”
With growing interest for pickleball in Fredericktown, the recreation board discussed where the court would be located, the director said.
The courts will be built at Merrin Park, where basketball courts now reside. Blanchard said it’s cost-effective and it’s a “more suitable location for seniors” to have the pickleball courts at Merrin Park instead of another location.
The $41,000 grant will cover 75% of the project, with the total cost estimated $55,000. Construction for the courts won’t begin until the spring, with a contractor already selected.
Blanchard said this will have a wider benefit to the Fredericktown community, beyond pickleball enthusiasts.
“This is going to benefit the entire community but especially the senior community,” Blanchard said. “It’s going to be very exciting for them to hear the pickleball courts are going to be a thing that’s happening.”
Recreation’s doesn’t have another ‘big’ project in the works right now, Blanchard said, noting it takes around three to five years for a project like the size of pickleball courts to reach fruition.
