Waterfront Park Pickleball Facility: Toronto’s east end waterfront will soon get the city’s first multi-court outdoor pickleball facility. The project comes after three years of hard work by the East Toronto Pickleball Association. The new space will have 11 courts and is expected to open by September.
Need for Better Courts
Mary Beth Denomy, who leads the East Toronto Pickleball Association, said her group has 700 paying members but only two proper pickleball courts east of Yonge Street.
“You wouldn’t play tennis on a hockey rink. So it is an exciting evolution of North America’s fastest growing sport.”(Mary Beth Denomy)
Growing Popularity
Pickleball has quickly become a favorite sport in Canada. A recent survey by Pickleball Canada showed about 1.5 million Canadians now play the game, up 60% in three years.
In Toronto, many pickleball games happen on old hockey rinks and tennis courts. But these surfaces have caused problems like sore knees, slippery floors, and flooding. Players often have to set up nets and tape their own lines.
A New Home for Pickleball
The new courts will be built just east of Emdaabiimok Avenue and north of Lake Shore Boulevard East. The park already has a rugby field, skate park, and baseball field, which will remain. Councillor Paula Fletcher said the city added money for the project in its 2025 budget. “It’s pretty exciting,” Paula Fletcher said. She explained that she worked on the plan with the East Toronto Pickleball Association for many years.
Community Support
To get the project moving, the East Toronto Pickleball Association collected over 1,000 petition signatures. Local businesses, schools, and non-profits also sent letters supporting the courts.
Mary Beth Denomy said the new space will be great for tournaments. It will also have lights for nighttime games and two courts for players who use wheelchairs.
A Social Sport
Mary Beth Denomy shared that she started playing pickleball during the COVID-19 pandemic because of how social it is.
“It’s the type of sport where people come out and they bring their lawn chair and their picnic basket and they play for the whole day. It is a community group sport that is easy to pick up, easy to learn and accessible to a lot of people.”(Mary Beth Denomy)
Looking Ahead
While the new courts will not meet all the demand for pickleball space in Toronto’s east end, Mary Beth Denomy said it will be a “giant step” toward giving more people a proper place to play.
News in Brief: Waterfront Park Pickleball Facility
Toronto will soon build its first multi-court outdoor pickleball facility with 11 courts near Woodbine Park. Led by Mary Beth Denomy and supported by Councillor Paula Fletcher, the project will help meet rising demand for pickleball spaces. The courts should open by September 2025.