SPOKANE, Wash. – Spokane Public Schools (SPS) is set to convert existing tennis courts to pickleball courts across the city in response to community members’ growing passion for the sport.
A total of 14 courts will be converted, six on the north side of the city and eight on the south side.
Accommodations of tennis courts at both Ferris High School and Lewis and Clark’s Hart Field on the South Hill are also a part of SPS’ latest initiative, adding an additional four pickleball courts to the city.
Originally invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Wash., the relatively new game of pickleball was established as Washington state’s official sport in 2022 and is now the fastest growing sport in America.
Former SPS superintendent Dr. Gary Livingston has been playing pickleball since 2012 and has recently noticed overcrowding in Spokane’s existing pickleball courts.
“At Comstock Park, there will be 40 to 50 people playing pickleball,” said Livingston. “Those courts at the high schools will definitely be used.”
Not only does Livingston encourage students to partake as a way to generate social activity, but also retirees like him and his wife due to the sport’s low-impact on the knees.
“I participate in a group that plays pickleball twice a week,” he said. “This would be great for the community because the school district is contributing to the social connectivity of retired people.”
Once built, the new courts will be open to both students and the broader community.
A date for the court accommodations is yet to be set.
