At its meeting Tuesday, the Flagstaff City Council approved a $2.1 million contract for improvements to Bushmaster Park, including the creation of eight new pickleball courts. The project will include restoring the two tennis and two basketball courts already at the park and developing eight new pickleball courts. This will be done by rearranging the current layout, as the tennis courts will become six pickleball courts (with two more added across from these) and the current basketball site will be used for tennis, with new basketball courts opposite that.
The existing tennis and basketball courts at Bushmaster Park are currently striped for dual use for pickleball, and specific hours are reserved on the courts for each sport.
Amy Hagin, the city's assistant parks and recreation director, presented the proposal to the council Tuesday afternoon, beginning with an overview of the project’s history.
Bushmaster Park had an expansion and improvement project in 2015-2016, which included additions to the playground, bathrooms, parking lots and skate park, among other items, but did not make any improvements to the sport courts. Dual stripes and temporary nets were added to the basketball and tennis courts for pickleball use in August 2019. At that time, there were no pickleball courts in Flagstaff; two were added to Ponderosa Park later that year as the city’s only dedicated pickleball courts.
Outdoor racket facilities (used for tennis and pickleball) were one of three priorities outlined in a parks and recreation strategic plan. Hagin said after a related ballot measure failed to move forward, the city then began exploring how to use BBB funding (from the city's Bed, Board and Beverage tax) to support some form of addressing these needs.
Source: https://azdailysun.com/news/local/flagstaff-city-council-approves-construction-plans-for-improvements-at-bushmaster-park-including-new-pickleball-courts/article_78cc78bf-cdee-4712-a7e0-c04441604492.html