Cupertino is moving ahead with plans to have new pickleball courts installed at Memorial Park.
The City Council Wednesday night approved a re-design of the park that includes adding eight pickleball courts, part of an ongoing plan to improve infrastructure and accessibility. While dozens of local players voiced support for the move, residents living near Memorial expressed concerns about a possible increase in pickleball-related noise, prompting the council to ask staff to look into noise reduction measures and consider alternate areas within the park to build the courts.
Located along Stevens Creek Boulevard just east of Highway 85, two of the six tennis courts at Memorial Park have been reserved for pickleball under the city’s trial program. The proposed courts are located along the southeast area of the park, which is near the Cupertino Sports Center and private residences. The council’s approval on Wednesday was needed before the estimated $83 million construction project to re-design the entire park can start.
Online surveys, community webinars and interviews were conducted over a two-year period to determine what other new amenities the park should implement. Popular suggestions slated to be added included multi-use pathways, bike-friendly access points, expanded picnic areas, nature and inclusive playgrounds.
Local pickleball player Doug Gor said the council should prioritize court construction, as playing on the existing tennis courts is challenging. Currently, only one is striped for pickleball, and players need to bring their own striping and nets for the other. The lines constantly need to be repainted and re-taped, he said. A group of players even launched a GoFundMe in December 2023 to raise money for painter’s tape, four nets and other items for public use.
“Once the city starts to develop an implementation timeline, our request is that the city prioritize the construction of the eight new courts,” Gor said during the meeting.
Not everyone is keen on having the new courts built. Residents, like Alisa Rauch, who live near the proposed area said the sport is extremely noisy and should stay confined to the tennis courts.
“Pickleball is very, very loud,” she said during the meeting. “My recommendation is stick the pickleball where it is now and keep working on soundproofing.”
Requests to add designated pickleball courts in city spaces have been widespread in California, especially in the Bay Area. With more than 700 places to play, California has more pickleball courts then any other state and will need to build 3,748 courts at a projected cost of $131.2 million to keep up with demand over the next five to seven years, according to a 2023 Sports & Fitness Industry Association report.
In the Bay Area, new courts have been established in dozens of cities, including nearby Los Gatos and Sunnyvale. Milpitas is considering making its temporary courts permanent, a move that has been met with enthusiasm from players and resistance from some locals, who also complain about pickleball-related noise. Noise concern has been so widespread that USA Pickleball, the national governing body for the sport, has sought ways to address these complaints, including by creating softer equipment.