Groundbreaking Held For New Pickleball Courts

By BOBBIE GREEN

The Progress

The City of Mesquite Athletics and Leisure Services Department held a groundbreaking ceremony on Monday, Oct. 4 for the long-awaited new pickle ball courts.

The new courts will be located on Old Mill Road just across the street from the Recreation Center. There will be fourteen lighted courts built in two phases. The first eight courts and a lighted parking lot are expected to be completed in approximately 120-days. The second phase will add six more courts, all the night lighting installed and restroom facilities.

Two excavators beside a huge pile of dirt and four gold-colored shovels greeted the substantial crowd that showed up for the ceremonial groundbreaking.
“It is a beautiful day to be out here for this needed addition of pickleball courts,” said Mesquite Mayor Al Litman. “And I am not responsible for what happens when I am in control of that bulldozer.”

Litman and City Councilwoman Sandra Ramaker gave short speeches. Athletics and Leisure Services Department Director Nicholas Montoya was on hand to answer questions, along with Director of Public Works Travis Anderson. Also in attendance were George Gault and Wes Boger of the City Council.

Litman and Montoya each managed an excavator and safely lifted the first two buckets of dirt. Ramaker, Gault, Boger and Litman then managed the gold shovels. All the action resulted in an enthusiastic cheer from the crowd.

Since its invention in 1965, pickleball has increased in popularity to become an international sport. The USA Pickleball Association fact sheet listed three enterprising young dads that invented the game out of self-preservation. Their kids were bored with summer time activities. So, dads Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell and Barney McCallum created a new game and a popular new sport was born.

How did the game get such an unusual name? According to the fact sheet it was a combination of two theories. One of the spouse’s called the game pickleball because it is a combination of three different sports not unlike pickle boat crew members where oarsmen were chosen from the leftovers of other boats. Then there was the Pritchards’ dog named Pickles who would chase after the ball and run off with it.

John Sadler is the USA Pickleball Ambassador for Mesquite and a professional pickleball instructor. He has been instrumental in promoting pickleball in Mesquite. He also gives pickleball lessons every Saturday morning at the Recreation Center.

“It is my vision that developers accept the burden of future facilities, thus freeing the city of these types of projects and delivering money to other areas in Mesquite like the arts, theater, recreation, etc.,” Sadler said.