“Insane We Don’t Have Them”: Parks & Rec to Create Temporary Pickleball Courts at Middlebrook

Two dedicated — albeit temporary — pickleball courts are coming to Wilton this summer. During a meeting on Wednesday, June 5, the Parks and Recreation Commission and Parks and Rec Director Steve Pierce agreed to repurpose the upper parking lot at Middlebrook School as a temporary court space for the fast-growing sport. Wilton currently has four hybrid pickleball courts that share space with the tennis courts at Middlebrook, as well as one indoor court at Comstock Community Center.

The decision followed a presentation by Kim Becker, USA Pickleball District Ambassador for Connecticut. Pickleball is touted as the fastest growing sport in America and Becker has been working with a coalition of Wilton residents to advocate for more courts in town. Earlier this year, the Parks and Recreation Department proposed a bonded referendum on a $300,000 project to create four additional dedicated pickleball courts at Merwin Meadows, but the project failed to reach the ballot. In late May, the group launched a survey to gauge local support and gather ideas for ways to bring more pickleball resources to town.

This week, Becker and her fellow advocates returned to Parks & Rec with three options to temporarily expand Wilton’s pickleball offerings. They noted that the campaign is guided by a “play & stay” principle that the easier it is for people to play pickleball in Wilton, the more likely they are to frequent Wilton restaurants and stores rather than those in neighboring towns. The Commission quickly gravitated toward Option 3, which would involve repainting a parking area on the Middlebrook property to serve as two dedicated courts.

“[Option 3] would be of particular interest to me,” Chair John Macken said. “It feels like a good spot for it. I think we could get those painted and get two sets of nets for a reasonable cost.”

The expenses involved will include the painting itself, and the purchase of nets ($120 each), and a bin ($600) to store the nets when not in use. The bin will be secured with a combination lock and Parks & Rec will handle distributing the combination to interested residents. Becker asked that the courts be laid out in a way that leave open the option of adding a third and fourth court onto the lot in the future. She also noted that funding may be available from USA Pickleball to help offset some of the cost.

Later in the evening, Commissioner Alix Korpan asked Pierce to look into additional funding options and added, “it really is, I think, insane in our town that we don’t have them [dedicated pickleball courts].” She asked in particular why Norwalk was able to use American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds for their new pickleball court expansion, and Pierce explained that Wilton’s ARPA funding was allocated for other projects.  

As part of Becker’s presentation, she shared a chart of outdoor pickleball courts in various Fairfield county towns, which shows Wilton near the bottom in terms of offerings. However, Macken pointed out that some of the municipalities listed are significantly larger than Wilton.

“I don’t think Wilton should be looking at Trumbull, Danbury, or Greenwich as comparable,” Macken said. He then noted that, had the addition of four dedicated courts passed as a bonded referendum, Wilton would have had more pickleball courts than Darien, Weston, Bethel, and New Canaan, and just one less than Ridgefield.

The Commission agreed to move ahead with Option 3, which did not require a formal vote. Pierce said the project could move quickly and thought the two new courts could be set up as early as one business day after the conclusion of the school year. He explained that he had already spoken with Middlebrook Principal Jory Higgins, who was not opposed to the town painting temporary pickleball courts on the upper parking lot. However, according to Pierce, Higgins did note that the school uses the space during the school year for recess and is looking into adding four-square courts.

The discussion ended pleasantly, with Macken telling Becker and the roughly eight people assembled, “We’re super supportive of what you guys want to do.” He lamented that the proposal to add four courts at Merwin Meadows, “didn’t even make it to a town vote.”

When Becker asked what supporters can do to help, Macken added: “Your local vote matters. Find out what the person you’re voting for thinks of pickleball. It may seem silly to you, but it’s not that silly right? These things end up going to a town vote or not based on our elected politicians.”