Pickleball Expansion Hits West Salt Lake: Big changes are in motion for west Salt Lake City as eight new pickleball courts were officially opened at Rosewood Park on Thursday. The courts are part of a long-awaited improvement that residents have been requesting. Salt Lake City Public Lands is not stopping there, with plans to add 12 to 16 additional courts in other parks on the west side.
Turner Bitton, chair of the Glendale Neighborhood Council, said “It feels like some of those historical issues that we’ve had about underinvestment or redlining are being addressed.”
A Community-Driven Initiative
These courts are a small piece of a larger investment in the west side of Salt Lake City. In 2014, the city’s Department of Public Utilities began planning improvements to a key section of the sanitary sewer system running beneath Rosewood Park.
Laura Briefer, the department’s director, explained the unique opportunity the city saw during the project. “Early in construction, our team that’s made up of not only Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities staff, but also our engineers and our construction staff, identified an opportunity to both do something really good for our community as well as save money on a $30 million capital improvement project. And that was to restore the Rosewood Park tennis courts” she said. This plan involved restoring and repurposing the existing tennis courts into pickleball courts, aligning with community needs.
Responding to Local Demand
Residents of the west side have been forced to travel to other areas, such as the east side, which has 14 courts, to play pickleball. “The courts are here on the west end (of Glendale Park) are kind (of a) mix of pickleball and tennis, which isn’t always great for those of us that are kind of obsessed with pickleball.” said Bitton.
The upcoming additions will change that, with the west side expected to house two-thirds of Salt Lake City’s pickleball courts. Salt Lake City Public Lands is currently engaged in 30 projects across the west side, including the Glendale Regional Park, a major development approved by voters in 2022.
A Broader Vision for West Side Parks
The pickleball courts are just the beginning. The Glendale Regional Park project will also bring basketball courts, an all-abilities playground, picnic lawns, and new parking. Phase one of the project is slated for completion by summer 2025.
“It’s viewed as a community gathering space, and there’s excitement around performances and all the different things that can happen at this new resource that we’re getting,” Bitton said. “Certainly, it’ll be something that benefits everyone citywide. But it took that city-wide investment and vision for green spaces for this to become a reality.”
News in Brief : Pickleball Expansion Hits West Salt Lake
Salt Lake City unveiled eight new pickleball courts at Rosewood Park, with plans to add 12 to 16 more courts across the west side. These improvements are part of a larger effort to address historical underinvestment in the area.
Turner Bitton, chair of the Glendale Neighborhood Council, praised the project, which stems from a $30 million sewer upgrade in 2014. The city’s west side will soon hold two-thirds of its pickleball courts, with further upgrades including basketball courts and an all-abilities playground by summer 2025.
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