VALDOSTA – Pickleball enthusiasts will finally get a chance to play ball thanks to the city getting its $1.8 million investment in McKey Park courts off the ground.

City, county and parks and recreation officials gathered around the park’s Burton and North Oak street ends this week to break ground for construction of the new facilities.

Valdosta City Council approved a SPLOST VIII-funded contract with Quillian Powell Construction Company in the amount of $1,819,400, including a 10% contingency, to build the 12-court pickleball facility on the Burton Street side of the park last November.

Then City Manager Mark Barber said Pickleball in Valdosta sent a request to the Valdosta-Lowndes Parks and Recreation Authority to have its own courts due to taping off tennis courts to use as an official pickleball court.

Now, 12 courts will be dedicated to pickleball.

In an interview with The Valdosta Daily Times, Pickleball in Valdosta President Elbert Powell said pickleball is a hybrid between tennis and badminton and is mostly a social game that anyone can play, which is why it is the fastest growing sport in the nation and such an asset for the city.

“You build so many friends in so many contexts. It is unreal. and it’s going to be a great thing, because everybody can play. You don’t have to invest big money by taking golf lessons and doing this and that. You get a paddle. You got tennis shoes, you can play,” he said.

“Well, it’s something that anybody wants to come by and just look at and it’s so easy to learn, doesn’t take any special skills or things like that. I just turned 76 yesterday and one of my favorite players that I played with up in the mountains, he’s 86, and he gets out and plays. That’s how we still get up and go as we have something like this to do.”

Mayor Scott James Matheson said he picked up pickleball on his radar through VLPRA’s George Page, adding his and Pickleball in Valdosta’s advocacy paid off.

“My favorite dollar is a Parks and Rec dollar, they give you that dollar back and a higher quality of life. But then after that they multiply that dollar. In fact, tournaments bring in $150,000 for the weekend,” he said.

Suzan Garnett, chair of VLPRA, expressed similar sentiments, stating the upgraded facilities and park area that will come along with the pickleball courts will be of benefit to all park goers.

“We knew we were hearing that this is the fastest growing sport, and I think that with all the shutdowns in 2021, people were being encouraged to socially distance themselves from one another. I think that that’s where it kind of took off and really grew. and so, we knew that this facility is something that we as a community needed. You know, it took us some time to find the perfect location, and we’re so excited to have basically a massive racquet park and I think that this is going to be something that our entire community will be proud of. This will bring even more people out and about, and I think it’s wonderful that we’re going to be able to incorporate a park and a picnic area, new restrooms and 60 extra parking spaces for our McKey Park,” she said.

As for Pickleball in Valdosta, Powell thanked the VLPRA and City Council for making the request a reality, and he said he believes the new courts will be a bigger hit than people think.

“We’ve had so many people come out and play with us this year and we’re going to have more. We’re going to need more courts, best believe. But we’re happy we have this now and hope we can play our first tournament on them this fall,” he said.

Matheson confirmed the courts will take approximately eight months to complete, potentially coinciding with the tournament’s start in November.