ROSSFORD, Ohio — It was the first community in our area to have dedicated pickleball courts, and now Rossford has added more.
The old tennis courts at Beech Street Park in Rossford have been completely transformed. Two years ago, the city of Rossford's Parks and Recreation department used grant funding from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Natureworks program, and local grant dollars to install six pickleball courts.
Connie Mierzejewski , an ambassador with the USA Pickleball Association, says the sport has grown so fast that more clubs are being created in northwest Ohio than available pickleball courts.
"It's a little bit quicker; the rules keep it so it's more compact," Mierzejewski said. "And I think people enjoy the fact that you can get a good cardio workout and still have camaraderie and enjoying each others company."
Nearly $65,000 of public funding was used for the new court surface and nets, and the city of Rossford spent around $4,000 to upgrade the electrical system for the lights.
While the new courts will be available for general public use, they will also be used as a second location for the Toledo Pickleball Club's annual Glass City Invitational tournament.
"They have a huge tournament at the end of June which brings in people from Europe, the southwest, the southeast, all over the place," Rossford Parks and Recreation Director Toby Ledesma said. "It was the perfect match for the Convention and Visitors Bureau."
The Rossford Recreation Center will host an official ribbon cutting ceremony for these new courts Wednesday evening, followed by some lessons, demonstrations and probably some pickup games.
"We still have a few things to do, a few pieces of the park that we want," Ledesma said. "But this is kind of a Phase 1 of a multiple phase kind of thing that we're looking at for the park. It's a great first step for what we envisioned, and we can't wait to go forward with the next part."