Pickleball court planned for lot near Denver’s Civic Center station tabled

Denver will stop pursuing a plan to build pickleball courts in the gravel lot next to Civic Center station in the Capitol Hill neighborhood because of the ongoing budget constraints the city is facing, a spokesman for the city said Friday.

“Due to budget restrictions, we have paused the pickleball plan. We look forward to continuing our partnership with RTD and others and are exploring alternative options to activate this property in the future,” said spokesman Jon Ewing.

The consulting firm Stantec submitted a plan for six pickleball courts, a seating area and a shade canopy on the land last year. The lot next to the Regional Transportation District’s Civic Center Station is a block west of the Colorado State Capitol. The half-acre lot, a drainage area near RTD’s Colfax Avenue and Broadway bus stop, is fenced off and filled with large rocks. The rest of the space is empty, aside from a handful of small trees and bushes.

Evan Dreyer, Mayor Mike Johnston’s deputy chief of staff, was leading the project before it was tabled.

“That piece of property has sat empty for years and years, and we’re all excited about the possibility of being able to do something really fun and cool there,” he told the Denver Post when the plan was first announced.

City officials are still looking for ways to use the land. While they could decide to pick back up the idea of pickleball courts, officials are also considering other, cheaper options, Ewing said.

The land at 1523 North Lincoln St. belongs to a family trust that leases the land to RTD on a long-term basis. The transportation agency has long-term plans for the lot, but has agreed to let the city use it for three to five years, according to an earlier story from The Denver Post.

The city is facing significant budget cuts as sales tax revenue has stagnated. Johnston announced in May that without intervention, there would be an estimated $200 million budget hole next year. Officials have laid off workers, cut back on some services and instituted a hiring freeze.