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Walter Reed Outdoor Pickleball Court Project

Location

2909 16th Street, Arlington, VA 22204 View Map

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Status

In Design

About the Project

This project at Walter Reed Community Center and Park will address the multi-use tennis and pickleball courts, which currently allow for six courts where pickleball can be played and the multi-use basketball and pickleball courts, which currently allow for three courts where pickleball can be played. The County is committed to incorporating sound reduction measures as part of this project. The basketball court will be converted back to its original use.

Project Goals:

6 dedicated pickleball courts at the tennis court area (e.g., court pavement, netting, lighting, fencing, and associated sport equipment)
Sound reduction measures
Seating and shade
Pathways with ADA access improvements
Stormwater management
Signage
Landscaping
Basketball court restriping

Project Background

Pickleball is a relatively new and popular sport, and it is the only court sport that does not have a dedicated outdoor facility in Arlington.

The purpose of this project is to convert the Walter Reed outdoor tennis courts to dedicated, single use pickleball courts. The Walter Reed tennis courts were selected for conversion though an outdoor courts assessment and criteria that help identify single-use tennis and basketball courts that are good candidates for multi-use and/or a dedicated pickleball facility.

2020: During the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond, pickleball boomed in ways that staff and the community could not have expected.

2019: As there was growing interest in pickleball additional striping of courts occurred at the tennis courts at Walter Reed to allow pickleball users to play.
April 2019: The Public Spaces Master Plan (PSMP) was adopted in April 2019 and calls for the County to "establish a dedicated pickleball facility to meet the growing demand" in Action Step 1.4.3. on page 65.
2017: Pickleball striping was added to the basketball court at Walter Reed to pilot the multi-use of basketball and pickleball.

About the Process

Click the drop downs below to explore the details and resources throughout the project process. A graphic timeline of the process can be found here(PDF, 122KB).

2021-2023 - Community Engagement

November 2023: DPR staff presented a pickleball update to the County Board at the November 14 recessed meeting (video | presentation). The presentation included an overview of the latest community engagement and next steps to move the project forward. Through the engagement from November 15 to December 8, 2023, we heard from 276 participants and received 228 comments. To learn about what was shared, check out the engagement summary and raw engagement data.
May-June 2023: DPR hosted a second open house on May 23, 2023, showcasing two draft designs for community input ( video | presentation). The event featured six stations, each focusing on specific topics for idea sharing, questions, and discussions with community members and staff. Both design concepts were accessible for review and input at all stations. This event was accompanied by an online engagement open between May 25 – June 22. Through both opportunities, we received feedback from over 1,500 participants. To learn about what was shared, check out the engagement summary and raw engagement data.

April 2023: DPR gave an update on athletic court restriping and pickleball to the County Board on April 25. This presentation included an update to the Walter Reed Outdoor Pickleball Court project, as well as, plans to restripe existing athletic courts at Fort Scott Park, Marcey Road Park, Hayes Park and Virginia Highlands Park for multi-use (tennis and pickleball) between June and September of 2023. The parks selected for restriping were informed by the Arlington Outdoor Courts Assessment Project. Watch the presentation or review the slide deck(PDF, 4MB) .

March 2023: Thanks to the 1,300+ participants who shared input during the Walter Reed Pickleball Court Project's first public engagement! We are sharing the engagement summary as well as the raw questionnaire data and comments from the Open House(PDF, 231KB). The project team has read through all comments and are working with the consultants to draft potential concepts for further community input. The public designs will be ready in May.

December 2022: Based on what we learned and the passage of the FY 2023- FY 2033 Capital Improvement Plan, a dedicated pickleball courts will be created where the outdoor tennis courts are at Walter Reed Park. A community engagement process will allow for any interested stakeholders to provide input on the project. Engagement will occur in 3 phases to hear input, provide design concepts and garner input, and again with a final design and comment period.

July 2022: The Arlington County Board passed the FY 2023- FY 2033 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). For information on pickleball as part of the FY 2023-FY 2032 CIP process please see County staff responses to questions raised by the County Board during the June 14, 2022, County Board Work Session. C2-Parks-Pickleball-Courts.pdf (arlingtonva.us).
May 2022: The Arlington Outdoor Courts Assessment second community engagement used input from the first community engagement along with courts scoring for multi-use and dedicated play to helped staff to create the second engagement. The second engagement was open from May 25 - June 8 and engagement material may be reviewed through this narrated video or PDF. This PowerPoint and text document comprehensively share what we learned from the second engagement process.

May 2022: The Arlington Outdoor Courts Assessment second community engagement ran from May 25 - June 8. Engagement materials can be reviewed through this narrated video or PDF. The PowerPoint and report detail what was learned from this engagement process. The second engagement process was designed using input from the project’s first engagement and courts scoring for multi-use and dedicated play.

2021: The Arlington Outdoor Courts Assessment first community engagement helped the County learn more about the outdoor court utilization in Arlington: where people play, what sports they play and the amenities they look for. Based on community feedback we were able to create criteria to help us develop locations for multi-use courts that would include pickleball and a location for a dedicated pickleball facility.