MINOT – It's a new sport that’s been gaining popularity across the country. The Pickleball craze has been served up in Minot too, so much so that there’s a demand for more Pickleball courts.
Relief is on the way. The three tennis courts at Roosevelt Park will soon be transformed into a pickleball complex. Construction of eight Pickleball courts at that location is expected to be completed soon.
“Realistically, we hope to be playing Pickleball by mid-July over there if everything goes as planned,” said Ellie DesLauriers, Minot Parks director.
The Minot Park District first got involved in the outdoor Pickleball craze in 2019 with the installation of official Pickleball courts at Riverside Park. Now, with the help of a donation from the Minot Junior Golf Association, additional Pickleball courts are about to become a reality.
“We’ll have eight Pickleball courts and some fencing to divide the courts,” said DesLauriers. “If you have eight games going on at one time, which I assume we will because it’s an extremely popular thing right now, you won’t have Pickleballs interacting with other courts.”
Pickleball has become popular with players of all ages because it is an activity that is not overly demanding physically yet challenging. Pickleball is often fittingly described as a mixture of tennis and ping-pong.
“We started hearing from a lot of people who go south in the wintertime and got introduced to Pickleball there and, a lot of them, kind of brought it back with them,” said DesLauriers. “It’s exciting and people of all ages can enjoy it.”
