Pickleball courts officially opened in Oakdale Park

Windy weather couldn't stop pickleball players around the Salina community from enjoying the newest set of outdoor courts as they officially opened in Oakdale Park Thursday.

Construction of the eight new courts, which were built at the location of four tennis courts previously in the park, was completed at the end of December 2023 and play has been happening off and on since then, but Salina Parks and Recreation decided to host its official ribbon cutting this week.

Jeff Hammond, parks and recreation director, said he was thankful for this opportunity to have these courts in Salina, especially as pickleball has been growing in popularity.

"The sport of pickleball nationwide has grown by 10% over the last few years," Hammond said.

He said a lot of this growth comes from the simplicity of the sport and the ease it takes to learn.

"You get exercise from it, for (people of) all ages, and anybody can participate," Hammond said. "It's a great addition to our facilities here at Salina Parks and Recreation and for the City of Salina."

Hammond said one of the best things about this set of courts is that the funding for construction was completely private, thanks to a donation by a group of local pickleball enthusiasts.

"This project was born...from a group of individuals who sought to provide pickleball in the community with these courts at Oakdale Park," Hammond said. "(Their goal) was that anybody could have access to them, anybody could freely use them and can enjoy the sport of pickleball."

After the ceremonies were finished, and even though there were wind gusts of up to 30 mph reported in Salina, a group of 12 people stepped onto the courts to play a few games themselves.

Hammond said the plan right now is to have the courts open to the public nearly all the time, only being locked during specific times, like the Smoky Hill River Festival. He said the main reason for that was to keep the integrity of the surface intact.

"We don't want skateboarders, bicyclists or rollerblades (on the courts)," Hammond said.