Pickleball center at Joe Creason Park: A $65 million plan to build a new tennis and pickleball center at Joe Creason Park has stirred excitement and concern among Louisville residents. The nonprofit Kentucky Tennis & Pickleball Center, Inc. wants to lease 25 acres to create the facility, aiming to boost local and national events.
Plans for a Major New Sports Complex
The proposed center would feature 36 tennis courts and 18 pickleball courts, both indoor and outdoor. Fred Davis, board chair of Kentucky Tennis & Pickleball Center, said, “This will truly be a world class tennis facility and pickleball facility.”
The organizers believe the complex could bring over $17 million each year in visitor spending by hosting tournaments of all levels.
Community Support for the Project
Robyn White, a Louisville native who grew up playing tennis at Metro Park locations, supports the plan. She credited tennis for changing her life, saying, “Tennis is a vehicle. I’ve had opportunities, I’ve had friendships established. It has changed the trajectory of my life.”
White added, “This is going to make a huge boom as long as we have our community engagement and support.”
Concerns About Neighborhood Impact
However, some nearby residents worry about the project’s effects. Kevin Alessandro, who lives across from Joe Creason Park, said, “It’s quiet. My wife and I are runners so we get to enjoy the park with each other and the kids.”
He fears the new complex would cause traffic problems, explaining, “We see a lot of usership and Trevilian, Poplar and Newburg are really stretched thin when we have big events and then also just normal peak hours in the morning and afternoon drive times.”
Alessandro also said, “The scale of the project is obviously massive. Even reduced a quarter would be an extremely large impact on the community that we live in.”
Developers Address Community Issues
Davis explained why Joe Creason Park was chosen, saying, “Not only is this already a tennis center, it is also in the geographical center of Jefferson County. So since our goal is to make this access available to everybody, it’s the best place for it.”
He added, “We want to be a great neighbor to everyone in the neighborhood and we’ve given a lot of thought to all of those issues. I’m not sure that we have the perfect solution to every issue, but we want to reach that solution and we’ve done a lot of work to get there already.”
Mixed Feelings Among Residents
Despite assurances, Alessandro remains doubtful. “We moved here because we like the park,” he said. “We want more usership of the park, but this type of usership seems financially driven more than creating an option for the community to use.”
Next Steps for the Project
Community members will have a chance to give feedback at meetings on Tuesday, May 6 at 6:00 p.m. at the Cyril Allgeier Community Center and on Saturday, May 10, with time and location to be announced.
The outcome of these meetings will likely influence whether the project moves forward or faces further changes to address local concerns.
News in Brief: Pickleball center at Joe Creason Park
A plan to build a $65 million tennis and pickleball center at Joe Creason Park has sparked both excitement and concern in Louisville. While supporters see it boosting local sports and spending, some residents worry about traffic and the park’s environment. Community meetings will gather feedback in early May.
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