Hans Christian Andersen Park is home to Solvang’s two dedicated pickleball courts, both on the verge of closing to the public, according to Parks and Recreation Director Jenny McClurg.
“The current courts are getting to the point where it could become a safety hazard and could warrant a closure,” McClurg, who attributed some damage to the recent rain, said at the Solvang City Council’s Feb. 12 meeting.
McClurg and city staff sought direction from the City Council on designating a temporary site—by retrofitting one or multiple of Hans Christian Andersen’s tennis courts—for pickleball, while keeping the existing courts open for as long as possible.
Before committing to funding repairs at the two courts or scouting for potential places to build new courts, staff recommended that the city work toward updating both its recreation master plan and Hans Christian Andersen Park’s master plan, untouched since 2004 and 2006, respectively.
“Rather than survey [potential sites for new pickleball courts] at this time and spend potential wasteful money, we would like to proceed with a master plan … before any major capital expenses,” McClurg said.
McClurg added that it could take more than a year to update the recreation master plan and presented the City Council with three potential options that would provide pickleball players an alternative place to play in the interim.
Each option involved the use of one or more tennis courts at Hans Christian Andersen Park. One included the use of a court’s existing tennis net, while the other two pitches involved portable pickleball nets on wheels.
During council deliberations, Councilmember David Brown said that converting any of the park’s four tennis courts into multi-use courts or temporary pickleball courts could displease local tennis players.
“With the string of people we had previously, it was evident that they didn’t want to share the tennis courts,” Brown said, referring to some public speakers at the City Council’s Oct. 23 meeting, during an item on improvement projects at Hans Christian Andersen Park.
Many speakers at the October meeting urged the City Council to consider building new pickleball courts at the park or somewhere else in the city. Some of them spoke in support of the sport in general, while others complained that new courts were needed because pickleball players were already encroaching on tennis courts too often.
USA Pickleball Ambassador David Gay, who said he’s both an avid pickleball and tennis player, revisited the latter claim during the City Council’s Feb. 12 meeting.
Gay spoke during public comment in support of the staff option that temporarily converted one tennis court into four pickleball courts, while leaving the other three tennis courts at Hans Christian Andersen Park intact.
“It’s going to prevent conflict with the tennis players, I have no doubt,” Gay said. “I’m just saying there are some people who are kind of aggressive, and I can see conflict happening there.”
Councilmember Elizabeth Orona motioned for staff to carry out that option as a temporary solution, as it would “maximize” the use of the courts for both pickleball and tennis players at the park.
The motion passed 4-1, with Councilmember Robert Clarke dissenting.
This article appears in Feb 15-25, 2024.