The first part of Boulder Parks and Recreation’s Court System Plan recommends a goal of adding 22 dedicated pickleball courts and 22 dedicated tennis courts.
The first part of Boulder Parks and Recreation’s (BPR) Court System Plan was recently presented to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board (PRAB) and recommends a goal of adding 22 dedicated pickleball courts and 22 dedicated tennis courts.
In addition to this new construction, BPR will continue to maintain the existing sport courts in our system.
Staff reached this number based on industry standards for the number of courts a community should have and what percentage of the current population plays tennis and/or pickleball. After doing research BPR staff learned what other Colorado cities’ level of service is and realized that the percentage of Boulder’s population that plays tennis and pickleball is higher than the national average.
Based on the city’s population and the percentage of community members who play racket sports, BPR would need to add 22 of each dedicated court.
The next step in the Court System Plan is to determine where these dedicated courts could be added. Potential courts could be located at East Boulder Community Park, Valmont City Park, Foothills Community Park, Gerald Stazio Fields and Tom Watson Park. These courts were chosen based on criteria, including space availability, topography, access, noise limitation, community equity, and existing amenities.
Drawings of the new courts will be shared with the community as part of the next engagement window in March. Details will be posted on the project website.
The table below shows the timeline for planning and design for the new courts and the maintenance for the existing courts.
2024-2030 Six-Year CIP for Courts Note: only 2024 funding is approved by Council. Years 2025 to 2030 are the projected workplan for BPR. | ||||
| Year | Funding | CIP Type | Action | Location |
| 2024 | $400,000 | Asset Maintenance | Post-tension concrete court conversion of existing courts | Arapahoe Ridge and Columbine |
| 2024 | Planning & Design | Plan and Design up to 8 dedicated tennis courts and 16 dedicated pickleball courts | East Boulder Community Park | |
| 2025 | $400,000 | Asset Maintenance | Post-tension concrete court conversion of existing courts | TBD |
| 2025 | Approx. range of $1,750,000 to $2,250,000 million* | Construction | Build up to 8 dedicated tennis courts and 16 dedicated pickleball courts. | East Boulder Community Park |
| 2026 | $400,000 | Asset Maintenance | Post-tension concrete court conversion of existing courts | TBD |
| 2027 | $400,000 | Asset Maintenance | Post-tension concrete court conversion of existing courts | TBD |
| 2027 | Planning & Design | Plan and Design up to 12 dedicated tennis courts | Valmont South | |
| 2028 | $400,000 | Asset Maintenance | Post-tension concrete court conversion of existing courts | TBD |
| 2028 | Approx. range of $1,000,000 to $1,500,000 million | Construction | Plan and Design up to 12 dedicated tennis courts. | Valmont South |
| 2029 | $400,000 | Asset Maintenance | Post-tension concrete court conversion of existing courts | TBD |
| 2029 | Planning & Design | Build up to 8 dedicated tennis courts and 4 dedicated pickleball courts | Tom Watson | |
| 2030 | $400,000 | Asset Maintenance | Post-tension concrete court conversion of existing courts | TBD |
| 2030 | Approx. range of $1,250,00,000 to $1,700,000 million | Construction | Build up to 8 dedicated tennis courts and 4 dedicated pickleball courts. | Tom Watson |
| 2031-2039 CIP | ||||
| 2031-2029 | TBD | Planning & Design | Consider addition tennis and pickleball courts as needed at identified park locations in system plan | Stazio and Foothills |
More information is available in the January 2024 PRAB meeting packet, with Court System Plan information starting on page 63.