Cedar Rapids opens pickleball courts at Jones Park

CEDAR RAPIDS — In 2021, when Cate Welk moved from Illinois to Cedar Rapids, she said there weren’t many places to play pickleball. So when she heard Cedar Rapids was adding pickleball courts at Jones Park, she was “thrilled.”

Welk, 57, a member of the Linn County Pickleball Association, said she has played the sport for about six years, mainly at the Noelridge Park tennis courts, Northwest Recreation Center, Marion YMCA and Smithfield Tennis and Pickleball Center.

The fast-growing sport. she said, allows her to stay active, stretch and socialize. The new Jones Park courts are convenient and free, and most players are happy to let others join in their game.

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“It’s not too strenuous,” Welk said. “It’s more a game of finesse and power. That’s why it’s good for me to play. It’s good because anybody can really play.”

Repurposing golf course

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The 10 pickleball courts are the first step taken the Cedar Rapids Parks and Recreation Department has completed in repurposing the former golf course at Jones Park, 2901 Fruitland Blvd. SW.

To celebrate the opening Friday, members of the Linn County Pickleball Association provided a demonstration and Smithfield Tennis and Pickleball Center gave free lessons.

The city has added striping for pickleball games to the tennis courts in Noelridge, Bever, Jones and Ellis parks, Parks and Recreation Director Hashim Taylor said, but these courts are the city’s first municipal courts dedicated to pickleball.

“It being the No. 1 fastest-growing sport, having an amenity like this, we can provide community programming in addition to tournaments now with having its own course,” Taylor said. “So this goes back to the overall mission of the department, and my goal is making sure that all residents have access to recreation, including outdoor recreation like these courts.”

The new facility features five courts on both sides of a central shade area, which has electrical outlets, benches and a water fountain. Each court has a 4-foot fence separating it from the other courts. An 8-foot fence encloses five courts on each side. Entry is off Fruitland Boulevard, rather than the road through the park.

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The city will offer pickleball youth classes and programming for beginners, listed in the city’s Play guide and on social media.

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The Cedar Rapids City Council signed off on plans in 2020 to repurpose the Jones Park Golf Course, where flooding regularly closed the course. The venue was a drag on revenue from the city's three other 18-hole municipal golf courses, at Ellis, Gardner and Twin Pines.

“It started with a tough situation, with a challenge, but Cedar Rapids citizenry and City Council rose to the occasion,” City Manager Jeff Pomeranz said. “We took what was a closed golf course, and we turned this into what you're seeing is just the beginning of the development, the evolution, the forward-thinking for Jones Park, and I'm thrilled with the pickleball courts. They are absolutely beautiful.”

Mayor Tiffany O’Donnell, a new pickleball player herself, said the courts offer another accessible, age-friendly activity in Cedar Rapids.

“The more you play pickleball, you realize everybody plays pickleball, so it's such a treat for Cedar Rapids to be on the bus with pickleball,” she said.

Dog park, other plans

In addition to the pickleball courts, work is slated to begin next spring to convert approximately 14 acres of the former golf course into a dog park, Taylor said.

The dog park is expected to have separate areas for large and small dogs, a training yard with agility equipment and a rentable pavilion for dog owners.

The dog park will be accessible to those with disabilities and include amenities such as parking, lighting, fencing, shelters, trails, landscaping, water, electrical service and site furnishings. People will be able to access the dog park from a new driveway connection to C Street SW, north of the Tait Cummins Sports Complex.

Once completed in 2024, it will be the fourth dog park managed by the Cedar Rapids Parks and Recreation Department. The others are on 13.8 acres at Cheyenne Park, 1650 Cedar Bend Lane SW; the 11-acre K9Acres near Gardner Golf Course, 5200 Golf Course Rd., Marion; and another one being created in the city’s urban core.

Jones Park also offers a disc golf course. Taylor said the city is likely to keep some of the golf course as green space.

In addition, a renovated Jones clubhouse will house some Parks and Recreation activities, Pomeranz said, but also will serve as a community facility for events, which “is really another positive for this particular park.”

Comments: (319) 398-8494; marissa.payne@thegazette.com