LEXINGTON — The pickleball craze has arrived at Bicentennial Park.
Village officials, including members of the park board, gathered for a brief ribbon cutting ceremony Tuesday to celebrate one of the newest upgrades to the Lexington parks system: three new pickleball courts and a basketball court.
“I’ve gotten texts from people (saying) how happy they are with it,” Mayor Bob Jarvis said. “They start playing pickleball here at 7 a.m.
“They’ve got their own little leagues going.”
Village council voted last year to replace Bicentennial’s old, rarely-used tennis courts with something new.
SportScape Builders of Marysville replaced the asphalt courts with a new concrete pad, marked the court and installed nets, basketball goals and fencing.
The project cost the village approximately $145,000. It was paid for primarily with American Rescue Plan funds.
Jarvis said the project was completed last October, but finding a time when park board members could attend a ribbon cutting proved to be a challenge.
“The park board wanted to show off the newest gem in the jewels of Lexington parks, so they asked if they could put this together,” he said.
“It kind of took a while to get everybody to be able to get there.”
Lexington’s park board pitched the idea for pickleball courts to council, Jarvis said.
“I think it’s wonderful for Lexington,” said Marilyn Fisher, the board’s Lexington Senior Civic Center representative. “We need to keep up to date on what people like.”
Although the pickleball and basketball courts are complete, Jarvis said there are some other, smaller improvement projects coming up at Bicentennial Park.
The village plans to have a concrete sidewalk installed that would connect the pickleball court to the parking lot and brick walking path. There are also plans to place one or two picnic tables south of the new courts.
Meanwhile, the existing picnic shelters north of the parking lot are slated to be rebuilt next week.
Jarvis said there have been talks about upgrading play equipment, which is at least 20 years old. But there’s no timeline or definite plan.
“We’re looking to replace the playground equipment here. It’s starting to reach end of life,” he said. “It’s quite expensive, so that’s our next big project.”
