Costa Mesa increases its pickleball portfolio with 8 new courts at Tennis Center
Responding to a growing interest for spaces to play the popular recreational sport pickleball, Costa Mesa striped out three courts at its Downtown Recreation center a few years ago and dedicated two more at Tanager Park in 2022.
And now the city’s love of the game — a hybrid of tennis and ping-pong played with rackets and plastic balls — can continue to grow, as officials next Monday celebrate the opening of eight more courts at the Costa Mesa Tennis Center in a 10 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Inking a deal last August with Orange County-based ProSurface, Inc., the city agreed to pay $122,795, along with a 10% contingency fee, for the complete resurfacing and repair of the playing areas at its 12-court facility near TeWinkle Park.
The project included the reconfiguration of two tennis courts, courts 11 and 12, into eight regulation-sized courts suitable for pickleball with new posts, pickleball nets and additional fencing to separate the north and south courts.
“It’s exciting to have eight more pickleball courts at the Tennis Center,” recreation manager Monique Villasenor said Monday. “I’ve been getting phone calls left and right from people asking, ‘When are you opening them?’
City officials and residents on Wednesday enjoyed the new courts, configured from a single basketball court, along with a host of recent improvements made at the 7-acre park.
“At the downtown recreation center, those courts are filled to capacity. And our outdoor courts at Tanger are just as popular. Kids, seniors, adults — everybody plays.”
Mayor John Stephens, who’s played pickleball at city events, such as the Tanager Park court opening, says the game and its smaller court format is ideal for recreationalists as well as avid tennis players looking for a less demanding form of exercise.
“What I like about pickleball is it’s about the angles and hitting. It’s not so much the long strokes and running around,” he said. “That’s why it’s so fun to play, especially for people who may not have the stamina they used to have.”
Even though the new courts necessitate the reduction of physical space for tennis, Stephens assures the traditional sport isn’t going anywhere.
“We’re always going to have a strong tennis-playing base at the center, but I think taking two courts for pickleball was a good move,” he said Monday. “It’s a growing sport, and as sports grow, we’re committed to using our resources to meet the needs of the community.”
The Costa Mesa Tennis Center is located at 880 Junipero Drive. For more information, contact (714) 557-0211 or visit costamesatopseed.com.
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