Dare County Pickleball Facility Shortage: In Currituck County, just past the Wright Memorial Bridge, many pickleball players from Dare County are now gathering during the summer. They say Dare County is not doing enough to support the fast-growing sport of pickleball or recreation as a whole.
Members of the OBX Pickleball Group, led by organizer Scott Garber, are calling on the county to provide more places to play. With over 250 active members, the group says they often have no choice but to travel outside their home area to find courts.
Struggles to Find Space
“Picked up the paddle, and I never put it down,” said Scott Garber.
Scott Garber and his group have been playing in Pine Island, located in Currituck County, or at Westside Athletic Field because Dare County does not have dedicated pickleball facilities. Although the county set aside $500,000 two years ago to build courts, no courts were created.
“Right now, we’ve been playing in Pine Island, which is in Currituck County, and we’re out here at Westside Athletic Field playing because we don’t have facilities,” Garber explained.
According to Dare County Manager Bobby Outten, the reason nothing was built is because the county couldn’t agree on a location.
“Nothing was done because we couldn’t get consensus on a place to put it or find a place that would accommodate it,” said Bobby Outten.
Study Underway, But Concerns Remain
A firm is now studying Dare County’s parks and recreation needs. The results are expected in September. Bobby Outten said the goal is to spend the money in the most useful way.
“They want pickleball courts beyond what’s now available. Or they want them indoors, not outdoors, or they want them here, or they want them there. I get all of that. But again, there are other needs in the county besides pickleball, and we want to be sure that when we spend our money, we spend it correctly,” said Outten.
Scott Garber is worried the results will once again delay action.
“All we hear from parks and rec is we don’t have the budget, we don’t have staffing, we don’t have a way of paying for it. It’s like we just moved two years backwards, and here we go again,” said Garber.
He also believes this is about more than just pickleball.
“This is a community issue for recreation. We all know we have needs, but the commissioners need to recognize that we need green space, we need to buy land,” Garber said.
Limited Land, High Costs
Bobby Outten said the county faces big challenges because it owns very little land where most people live. Buying land and then building courts or parks would cost a lot.
“These limited land resources are problematic for us because we don’t have anywhere that we own to put facilities. Even if there were, it’s really, really expensive, and you’re attacking that cost on the cost to develop whatever the recreation facility or that you put on that land,” said Outten.
Scott Garber hopes local leaders listen and take action soon.
“They know that we’ve been barking for recreation. So I hope this message will get to all of those commissioners about recreation,” he said.
News in Brief: Dare County Pickleball Facility Shortage
Pickleball players in Dare County, North Carolina, are urging officials to build more courts. Led by Scott Garber, the OBX Pickleball Group says they often travel outside the county due to a lack of facilities. Despite past funding promises, no courts exist. A parks study is underway, with results due in September.
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