A push for pickleball: Ephrata ok's project construction bid
Courts could be playable sometime this summer.
EPHRATA — The push for pickleball got a boost Wednesday night by the Ephrata City Council.
By resolution, council members unanimously accepted an apparent low bid of $527,251 from locally based Tommer Construction Co. Inc. to build a large concrete pad that will accommodate six pickleball courts and a basketball/futsal court at the city’s sports complex just south of the Splash Zone water park.
Additionally, there will be an asphalt-paved area for 75 vehicle parking spaces.
City engineer Shawn O’Brien and parks/recreation director Josh Johnson outlined plans for the additions which are intended to provide more recreational opportunities for the community.
Tommer was among 15 bidders for the project, which had an estimated construction cost of $750,047.
The city had budgeted $700,000 this year for the facility, and officials were pleased by the unanticipated savings, some of which could be used for to pay for striping the courts and go toward future plans to construct an overhead cover.
The Paul Lauzier Foundation is a major contributor toward the project, providing $100,000 annually over four years. The city also plans to seek state grant funding. And the Columbia Basin Foundation has established an “Ephrata Pickleball Courts” special project fund which accepts donations to benefit the effort.
O’Brien expected construction will get underway soon for the large pad, measuring 300 feet in length and 66 feet wide — roughly the size of a regulation football field.
It will take some time for the concrete surface to cure, said O’Brien, but he thought the courts would be playable in three to four months.
Last fall, Ephrata officials said initial improvements would include grading, drainage, parking, and concrete pads for the courts. A second phase calls for the addition of nets, fencing, and a building cover over the futsal court. Futsal is a five-a-side indoor soccer variation played on a hard court with a smaller, heavier ball. Pickleball is a paddle sport for up to four players, combining elements of tennis and badminton while using a plastic wiffle ball on a smaller court with a lower net.
A group of pickleball enthusiasts have lobbied city officials since early 2023 to consider adding court space in a local park as a recreational amenity. During initial hearings, a leading proponent, Jean Patterson, said pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in America and accessible to players of all ages, skill levels, and backgrounds. She noted the sport has been taught in local schools’ P.E. classes for at least two decades.
Invented by some Bainbridge Island residents in 1965, pickleball is Washington’s official state sport. In 2023, there were an estimated 35,000 courts in the United States, more than double the number from five years earlier.
