The pickleball craze may have left Pasco County in the dust, but the comeback may be beginning.
Wesley Chapel District Park could be at the center of a pickleball revival, with construction of the county’s first dedicated public pickleball courts expected to begin later this year.
Pasco County recreation manager Brian Taylor said $700,000 in funding has been approved for nine dedicated pickleball courts on the north end of the park, northwest of the existing tennis courts and across the service road that runs in front of the recreation center.
The courts will make some long overdue history.
“In the entire county at this moment, there are no dedicated pickleball courts run by parks,” Taylor said. “These will be the first at Wesley Chapel.”
Taylor said the project is a direct response to years of increasing demand, which he traces back to a major spike in interest during the pandemic as people sought safe outdoor activities.
“Honestly, it’s the demand,” Taylor said. “We have the tennis courts out there now. We have, I believe, two pickleball courts that are painted over the tennis courts. People are always vying for, you know, ‘I want to play pickleball, I want to play tennis.’ And then on top of that, just knowing that pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports in the country.”
The new courts won’t be the first places local pickleball fans have been able to play. Pasco County offers the game primarily by striping pickleball lines onto existing tennis courts (much to the chagrin of tennis players).
Outdoor courts are available at J. Ben Harrill, Veterans Memorial Park, Land O’Lakes Recreation Complex, Starkey Ranch District Park and at WCDP itself, where two courts are painted over tennis.
Indoors, each of the county’s four recreation centers can set up six temporary courts at their gymnasiums.
But none of those outdoor facilities were built as pickleball-only venues.
The Wesley Chapel complex will be.
The nine courts will be arranged in pods of three, with 35-by-15-foot shade structures between them and with some bleacher seating underneath for players waiting between games and spectators looking on.
A 10-foot perimeter fence will surround the complex, with shorter 42-inch fences separating individual courts to keep balls from constantly rolling into neighboring games.
Additional parking will be added nearby, and players will have access to restrooms at the rec center across the service road.
Access will require a $10 annual, or an existing county membership card.
Wesley Chapel will also serve as a testing ground for a new mobile reservation system that will allow players to book courts from their phone. The county hopes that will help manage crowds and reduce conflicts as the sport has continues to grow.
The growth has sometimes come at tennis’ expense, as communities have converted existing tennis courts rather than build new pickleball facilities.
At Hillsborough County’s popular Northlakes Sports Complex, for example, eight dedicated courts eventually weren’t enough. Two years ago, its remaining tennis courts were completely converted to six more pickleball courts and covered by a large shade structure.
Taylor said Pasco isn’t looking to follow that path.
“We are still getting tennis players,” he said. “Particularly in the central part of the county… For us, there’s no thought of getting rid of tennis courts at this time anyway.”
Instead, the county is trying to add pickleball where it can, especially at new parks.
At the future Village of Pasadena Hills park, for example, plans call for four tennis courts and eight dedicated pickleball courts. Taylor said facilities like Two Rivers and other future parks will also likely include pickleball courts, provided they aren’t designed as passive or nature-focused parks.
Wesley Chapel’s nine-court complex also will allow the county to offer more than open play. Taylor said the lighted facility is expected to accommodate tournaments and organized programming, giving local players another option private clubs and residents-only courts in some communities.
The project is currently in the design phase. Taylor said the county hopes to begin construction in December, and wrap up by early summer 2027, though he is hoping to get shovels in the ground even sooner.
“We’re excited. We’re very excited about these,” he said. “It’s been a long time coming… They’ll be very popular, that’s for sure.”