New pickleball courts open at North Elba Athletic Fields | News, Sports, Jobs

Pickleball courts at the North Elba Athletic Fields. (Enterprise photo — Delainey Muscato)

LAKE PLACID — The city of North Elba is proud to present two brand new pickleball courts.

The popularity of pickleball has increased tremendously in recent years, mainly because pickleball is accessible to everyone, regardless of age and gender.

To meet the demand for the sport in the area, the City of North Elba recently completed two pickleball courts at the North Elba Athletic Fields at Recycle Circle Lane. North Elba City Supervisor Derek Doty showed the Enterprise the new courts, explained the origin story and shared future plans for the site.

Originally there were four beach volleyball courts behind the sports fields. Two of the volleyball courts are still there and two new pickleball courts have replaced the other two.

Doty said the city started building the tracks about three years ago and they’re almost done. Right now, there’s a gap between the fence and the base of the track. Doty said they plan to fill that in for safety reasons.

“We don’t want anyone to get hurt getting on or off. We’re going to make it all the same,” according to city councilor Dick Cummings.

In addition to filling in the rest of the field, they also have to complete some landscaping and remove the posts from the old volleyball courts.

“We’re also going to get cameras,” said Doty. “Not only for safety, but also so that people can see what is happening here.”

While he doesn’t yet have a timetable for the cameras’ deployment, Doty said people can view the cameras through the city’s website.

About a month ago, the courts had their soft opening. The opening did not go as smoothly as Doty and other members of the City Council had hoped.

“That afternoon there was a flood of water,” said Doty.

Heavy rain washed away the blue paint on the track that had just been finished that day. In all, $2,500 worth of paint had to be wiped off and redone, Doty said.

Bob Testa, facility and operations manager for Summit Lacrosse Ventures, explained how the lacrosse fields and the new pickleball courts go hand in hand.

“Parents who have seen their kids play (lacrosse) 1,000 times can drop their kids off here. They can come here and have something to do,” he said.

Testa said the lacrosse tournaments bring many new visitors to the region, which can bring benefits but also challenges.

“(Business owners) love it because it brings in extra people,” he said.

According to Doty, the city’s master plan includes connecting the horse show grounds to the sports fields to streamline traffic.

Currently, the fields are located far behind the Lake Placid horse show grounds and airport.

Testa said he often helps people get from the horse show grounds to the sports fields.

Cummings said another part of the city’s plan is to build a mountain bike pump track somewhere between the sports fields by next summer.

The courts are open daily.