Getting Pickleball Right: A Roadmap for Municipal Planning

Why collaboration—not consultants—is the key to building thriving pickleball communities

Pickleball is no longer emerging.

Across Ontario, cities like Richmond Hill, Barrie, and Newmarket are experiencing the same thing:

• Rapid growth in participation

• Overcrowded courts

• Waitlists for programs

• Increasing pressure from residents

The demand is real.
The enthusiasm is real.

So why are so many municipalities still struggling to get it right?

⚖️ Two Different Approaches Emerging

There are now two clear models for how cities are approaching pickleball:

1. The Collaborative Model (Newmarket)

Newmarket has taken a different path—one built on collaboration with its primary users:

• Partnering directly with local pickleball clubs

• Leveraging real player data and experience

• Supporting organized programming

• Building facilities that reflect how the game is actually played

👉 The result:
Newmarket is widely seen as one of the most pickleball-friendly communities in Ontario.

2. The Traditional Planning Model (Barrie & Richmond Hill)

Cities like Barrie and Richmond Hill have largely followed a more traditional path:

• Consultant-led studies

• Incremental court additions

• Limited collaboration with clubs

• Planning frameworks rooted in tennis

👉 The result:
Well-intentioned plans that often lag behind real demand.

📍 The Reality Cities Must Face

There are some hard truths about pickleball that municipalities cannot ignore:

❗ You can’t just put pickleball courts anywhere

Pickleball is louder than tennis.

• Courts placed too close to homes create conflict

• Poor site selection leads to complaints and restrictions

• Some locations become unusable due to noise concerns

👉 Proper placement and planning are essential.

❗ Lining tennis courts is not a real solution

Many cities try to “solve” demand by adding pickleball lines to tennis courts.

In practice:

• It creates conflict between tennis and pickleball players

• Leads to scheduling disputes at busier parks

• Results in underused courts when only 1–2 are lined

👉 And yet, municipalities often count these as “pickleball courts.”

The real question is:

Are they actually being used?

Too often, the answer is no.

🎾 The Core Issue: Treating Pickleball Like Tennis

One of the biggest challenges municipalities face is this:

Pickleball is being planned using a tennis model.

But pickleball is fundamentally different.

Pickleball is:

• Higher volume (more players per court)

• Social and community-driven

• Dependent on organized play

• Sensitive to overcrowding

👉 Applying a tennis framework leads to:

• Undersized facilities

• Poor utilization

• Frustration for players

🤝 The Missing Piece: Clubs

Here’s the irony: The demand driving municipal investment is coming from players…

And those players are largely organized through not-for-profit clubs like:

• Newmarket Pickleball Club

• Markham Pickleball Club

• Richmond Hill Pickleball Club

• Barrie Pickleball Club

• Vaughan Pickleball Club

These organizations:

• Introduce new players to the game

• Run leagues and structured play

• Organize skill-based programs

• Build the strong sense of community pickleball is known for

Yet many municipalities:

• Limit collaboration

• Plan in isolation

• Underutilize this expertise

👉 This is both ironic and a missed opportunity.

💸 The Consultant Problem

Municipalities often rely on consultants to guide planning.

The reality?

These same consultants:

• Have produced similar reports across multiple cities

• Repeatedly recommend large indoor and outdoor hubs

• Emphasize organized, scalable play

And yet cities still:

• Underbuild

• Delay decisions

• Revisit the same studies

👉 The outcome:
More cost. Same conclusions. Limited progress.

🏗️ The Cost of Underbuilding

When cities build too small, the pattern is predictable:

1. Facilities open and are immediately full

2. Wait times increase

3. Complaints rise

4. Players leave for other municipalities

5. Expansion becomes necessary—at higher cost

👉 Many cities end up building 2–3× more courts than originally planned—just later and more expensively.

📍 A Critical Moment in Richmond Hill

Richmond Hill is at a turning point.

After:

• A 5-year delay

• The cancellation of 16 previously approved courts

The City is now considering 12 courts at Richmond Green. This will be welcomed by residents—but it comes with serious risks.

❗ No clear indoor commitment

There is currently: No defined plan for a large indoor facility

Even if Richmond Hill eventually builds 10–12 indoor courts: They will be full on Day 1.

This is not long-term planning. It is the bare minimum.

❗ Players are already leaving

Many Richmond Hill players are already:

• Traveling to Vaughan and Markham

• Paying premium prices at private facilities

And soon: They will be heading to Newmarket.

The Town is building a 20-court indoor facility that will:

• Meet real demand

• Support organized play

• Establish Newmarket as a true pickleball destination

❗ The risk of “12 courts being enough”

If Richmond Hill builds only 12 courts:

• It may be seen as “problem solved”

• Further expansion could be delayed 5–10 years

• Overcrowding will return immediately

👉 And the cycle repeats.

What Barrie Got Right—and What It Missed

Barrie deserves credit for:

✔ Recognizing pickleball growth
✔ Creating a formal strategy
✔ Exploring multi-court facilities

But it also:

• Lacks clear capacity targets

• Limits club integration

• Focuses heavily on planning over execution

• Defers indoor solutions

👉 A strong start—but not a complete solution.

A Better Roadmap

If municipalities want to get pickleball right:

1. Plan for Players - Not just courts—define real demand.

2. Build Larger, Scalable Hubs - Not scattered or undersized facilities.

3. Partner With Clubs - Leverage those already growing the game.

4. Prioritize Programming - Structure drives utilization.

5. Plan Indoor and Outdoor Together - Year-round access is essential.

📣 A Call to Action

Pickleball is not slowing down. The question is whether municipalities will:

Continue reacting… or start planning properly.

Communities like Newmarket have shown what’s possible. Others now have the opportunity to follow—not by doing more studies, but by working with the people already building the game.

🎯 Final Thought

“Pickleball success doesn’t come from counting lined tennis courts or temporary parking lot courts.

It comes from building dedicated courts in places where players know—if they show up, they’ll get a game.”

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