Local News

Making a case for more pickleball courts

City advisory board member delivers presentation to council

MARSHALL -- Pickleball has been growing in popularity in the community. It's gotten to the point where there's a need for more court space, a presenter at a City Council work session said.

Ryan Anthony, a local pickleball player and a member of the Marshall Community Services advisory board, said going from six courts to eight would be "the most optimal choice" for players in Marshall.

"Eight courts gives us an opportunity to be able to support the growth of pickleball right now," Anthony told Marshall City Council members in a presentation at the work session. He asked the city to consider the possibility.

Anthony said pickleball courts in Marshall are widely used for social play.

"We have a lot of open play, a lot of community members that play," he said. "We also get a lot of visitors from the surrounding area," and events like tournaments even bring in players from South Dakota and Iowa, he said.

The Marshall Area Pickleball group on Facebook has more than 450 members, Anthony said. The number of players in the area community has also grown through events like classes, and the addition of women's open play and leagues this summer.

Anthony said Marshall area pickleball events currently use all six outdoor pickleball courts at the Legion Field Park tennis courts. During winter, there are also indoor league events at the Marshall Area YMCA, he said.

"So when the pickleball courts are closed outside, everybody continues to go play at the YMCA, and those numbers continue to grow," he said. "The league in 2025 had 75 members, and that continues to grow."

As pickleball has grown in popularity, there are times when there's a wait to use the existing outdoor pickleball and tennis courts at Legion Field Park.

"Having some additional courts would free that up, so other individuals can be able to either enjoy tennis, or the additional pickleball courts as well," Anthony said.

Anthony said that the recent addition of three pickleball courts outside El Rancho restaurant would be especially good for students at Southwest Minnesota State University, so they don't have to travel across town to Legion Field Park. However, it wouldn't work for league players or tournaments to take over the courts during "prime time" for the business' other customers, he said.

Marshall Mayor Bob Byrnes asked about the possibility of building new pickleball courts at the old Marshall Aquatic Center site.

"Has there been any analysis of how that space would be utilized? How many courts could theoretically fit there?" he said.

Demolition work is still ongoing at the old pool site, with jackhammers and excavators removing pieces of the pools and deck.

Marshall Parks and Recreation Superintendent Preston Stensrud said the city had explored the possibility of putting six pickleball courts in an area where the old Aquatic Center wading pool was.

"We hadn't had them explore an eight-court layout, but there would be ample room," Stensrud said. "It's just a matter of how much of that space would we potentially want to commit to pickleball?"

Anthony also talked about what the cost to build eight pickleball courts could potentially be. He shared financial figures from the construction of an eight-court outdoor pickleball complex in Watertown, South Dakota. The final awarded bid for the Watertown complex from Timmons Construction was about $526,000.

Building additional courts could also help support growth of the sport, Anthony said.

"When I talked to the Watertown (Pickleball) Association, they said they had threefold of new members coming out to play, and it wasn't just individuals that wanted to participate in tournaments or leagues. It's just individuals in the community," he said.

Pickleball has a lot of benefits for socializing and health, Anthony told city council members.

"So I hope this is something Marshall will consider," he said.