6 new pickleball courts approved for La Salle Rotary Park

La Salle soon may have 12 pickleball courts after the City Council approved six more courts Monday.

The motion was approved 7-1, with Alderman Jordan Crane voting no. Crane said he had concerns about going from zero to 12 courts.

The council’s action comes after six pickleball courts opened at Hegeler Park on Sept. 11, in which more than 30 pickleball players attended the ribbon-cutting to play.

In January, the city was awarded a $300,000 Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development Grant, a program administered by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources for outdoor recreational activities at Rotary Park – which included two pickleball courts.

The grant included $100,000 for the two pickleball courts and $110,000 for the parking lot resurfacing.

Some aldermen were concerned pickleball may be a “fad” and adding two courts may be a negative investment.

Alderman Tom Ptak said he didn’t know if pickleball would continue to grow in popularity as it is now and the city would go from no courts to 12 in a couple of months.

City Engineer Brian Brown said building six pickleball courts now would save the city money down the road if they choose to add the two additional courts later on.

“I believe it’s only growing in popularity and it’s a wise choice to spend more money now,” he said.

Mayor Jeff Grove said he was excited the council approved the extra two pickleball courts.

“These additional six courts will give La Salle a total of 12 courts,” he said. “We will have the flexibility to convert the six courts at Hegeler back to tennis courts if needed due to demand.”

City Engineer Brian Brown said in a letter to the mayor, city clerk and council, he designed a bid for four pickleball courts per their discussions because of the increased popularity of the sport from the time the city submitted the grant.

Brown put together a proposal for six courts in the event the council would consider the option. He said the price for six courts is $312,469, including the $82,479 for parking lot resurfacing.

Comparatively, four courts would have been $42,790 per court versus $38,331 per court it will spend on the six courts.

The bid was awarded to Universal Asphalt and Excavating. The parking lot bid came in about $2,800 less than Brown’s original estimate.

The city had already purchased four sets of lights for the four pickleball courts, but will need to purchase two more light poles – but the foundations are included in the price, Brown said.

Brown said about $105,000 will come from the remaining grant funds from tax increment financing with $180,123 being paid from Ameren, which was received from the installation of the new transmission lines outside of Rotary Park.