Capitol Hill courts ready to go full-pickleball under city’s new ‘Racquet Sport Strategy’

Miller from above

You might be able to learn a lot about a neighborhood by the results of the parks department’s plan to overhaul how it manages racket sports in Seattle.

A new planning effort is underway to change the uses Seattle Parks allows on its racket courts and move away from trying to share the pavement between tennis players and the still-growing crowds of pickleballers. Some neighborhoods like Madison Park will go full-tennis. Capitol Hill is for pickleball.

“We invite the community to learn about the proposed approach to balance the needs of pickleball and tennis users in our park system and look forward to gathering community feedback,” the parks department says about the draft plan and feedback gathering. “This strategy was developed in response to growing popularity of both sports.”

The city’s already crunched space for pickleball play would take a hit under the plan. “It is recognized that this approach will immediately result in a loss in the total number of available pickleball courts,” the parks department update says. The city is looking at options to create new courts by expanding existing locations or partnering with private facilities.

The city says it costs “between $200K to $300K” to build a new tennis court on a level site “with no complexities in permitting or construction.”

The parks board will discuss the draft plan Thursday night. A community briefing on the proposals is scheduled for May 7th at 7 PM at the Garfield Community Center.

Under the proposal, the parks department would transition courts currently intended to be shared across the sports into tennis and pickleball-only designations. On Capitol Hill, the popular pickleball scene at Miller Park would continue to flourish while the Cal Anderson sports courts would be added to the pickleball-designated roster.

Cal Anderson’s special skate and dodgeball uses would remain intact, the parks department says.

Miller Park would be one of the city’s designated pickleball “hubs” indicating more resources and en emphasis on the game’s tradition of “open play.” Cal Anderson’s courts would be “drop-in and reservation play.”

Resurfacing some courts — including Miller — could create even more room for pickleball, according to the plan.

Meanwhile, existing tennis-only courts like the hardcourt at Volunteer Park will remain as always.

Seattle Parks is gathering feedback on the plan over the following weeks including responses to this Outdoor Racquet Sport Strategy Survey.

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