After discussions with Pickleball Moose Jaw, the city will be building six new outdoor Pickleball courts beginning in the spring of 2022 with the hopes of having them ready before the end of that year.

The courts are expected to cost $285,000 from the General Parks Reserve and will be built at the Kinsmen Sportsplex. Moose Jaw city council gave the project the green light in a unanimous vote.

Moose Jaw’s Parks and Recreation Department considered two outdoor sites, the Kinsmen Sportsplex and the former YMCA building site in Crescent Park.

Parks and Recreation Director Derek Blais explained why they decided to go with the Sportsplex.

“It was rated the highest due to a lot of the accessible amenities that are already on-site such as change rooms, washrooms, concession, parking, the wind shelter, so, all items that will be very beneficial when hosting events,” he told city council.

Blais added that the site in Crescent Park is slightly sloped so it would cost an additional $50,000 to level, several valuable mature trees would need to be removed and only street parking would be available.

Coun. Kim Robinson had been an advocate for Pickleball in Moose Jaw. While he was in favour of the project, he did question why the courts wouldn’t be located in Crescent Park.

“We've had the Tennis Club in Crescent Park for ages, so I really think the short-term pain of not having the concession and stuff there would prove to be a really good decision in the long-term when we were having 600-700 participant tournaments of Pickleball in Crescent Park,” Robinson explained.

The concept of a new outdoor pool in Crescent Park also came up in the conversation. Coun. Heather Eby said if a new pool is built in the next couple of years, there is no telling if there will be room for Pickleball courts in the park.

“If the pool was already there and the room was still there, it might make more sense at that point in time ... but the pool will be the crown jewel of Crescent Park, and Pickleball would maybe be an addition after that,” she said.

The city will also be negotiating an exclusive use agreement for Pickleball Moose Jaw that would give the club exclusive use times and rental rates while allowing for drop-in times for the general public.

This project has been designated as a municipal project over the next five years, which will allow Pickleball Moose Jaw to fundraise and issue charitable receipts for the project to help reduce the cost.