Jun. 7—By Jed Nelson
As pickleball continues to become one of the fastest growing sports in America, some players’ ability to play is hindered due to the lack of resources their communities have to offer.
Advertisement
Austin Minnesota Area Pickleball Association (AMAPA) members Bob Rosel, Craig Jones, Dixie Gilbertson, and Greg Thorsheim met earlier this week to discuss their efforts in bringing public pickleball courts to Austin.
“The fact is, almost every city around us of equal size or smaller already has pickleball courts,” Rosel said. “They have quite a bit of participation at their courts. Austin is unfortunately one of the cities in the region that does not have readily available, dedicated pickleball courts.”
The group has proposed eight pickleball courts be built in Rotary Centennial Park in 2026. The project is estimated to cost a total of $380,000. AMAPA has already raised $75,000 of their current $150,000 goal.
“It’s a multi-faceted approach to funding because we’re trying to raise money as a non-profit organization,” Rosel added. “We also have to go through the city because they’re donating the property. Then through the city, we’ll have to approach other organizations like the Hormel Foundation or anyone else who’d like to donate to the process.”
Advertisement
“We’ve gotten donations from individuals, foundations, and businesses,” he continued. “We’re open for business.”
AMAPA was not the first group of pickleball players from Austin to try and fund the building of public courts. They’ve learned from the past, and in turn, have set themselves up for more success.
“When the other group went for it, they weren’t quite set-up yet,” Jones said. “When we started, we became a 501c3 — that helped a lot in our fundraising.”
The group before AMAPA also ran into trouble throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Relying too heavily on funding from the city and other organizations, the group was unable to fundraise enough money for themselves.
Advertisement
This was a problem member’s of AMAPA made sure to avoid.
“We raised part of the money before going to the city,” Rosel said. “Having raised money in advance helped before going to the city and other organizations.”
AMAPA has 80 active members of different ages and skill levels that have come together to create a community where the sport is enjoyable and fun for everyone. The group has recently begun playing in Packer Arena on Tuesdays from 6-8 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon. Soon the group can be seen playing in the parking lot of the Eagles of Austin. The schedule has yet to be set.
Despite having 80 members, the group still works to grow membership.
Advertisement
“We offer training to beginners and that has introduced a number of people to pickleball,” Gilbertson said. “Then after the trainings we’d ask if they’d be interested in joining.”
“Word of mouth is the easiest,” Rosel added. “It’s a $20 fee annually and we use social media to reach people too. Any opportunity we get to say, ‘Join the club,’ we mention it.”
Though the group’s dedication to creating a fun environment for its members is of importance, they’re equally serious about getting the courts built.
“This is for the whole community, not just old, retired people,” Thorsheim said. “There are tons of young people that would like to play but don’t have a place to play.”
Advertisement
They added that most AMAPA players drive to Albert Lea almost every day to play at true, dedicated pickleball courts. Due to the size of Austin, and the growing popularity of pickleball, the group believes now is the best time to get the project underway.
“Why drive to another city when we should be doing it right here,” Rosel stated. “A city of Austin’s size should be able to provide that for a quality of life.”
All that AMAPA has done thus far in the fundraising process has not gone unnoticed. Jason Sehon, Austin Parks, Recreation & Forestry Director stated that it is great to see the groups drive and momentum.
“I like to see the internal drive of the group, like the organizers and the pickleball board,” he said. “There’s also drive from outside of the group with people who want to play.”
Advertisement
Last summer, a tournament was held in Packer Arena where the amount of participants wanting to play was so high that a number of those people had to be turned away.
“I feel that this is an example of if you build it, they will come,” Sehon added.
The project was adopted by the City of Austin as part of the Comprehensive Parks, Recreation & Trails master plan, a plan that will work to create more centralized parks and amenities for residents.
“The goal is to create more amenities in centralized parks,” Sehon said. “Rotary Centennial Park seemed like a good spot for that, as it’s along the river, has good sidewalk and trail access, and is somewhat centralized with open space.”
Advertisement
As meetings and fundraising continue, members of AMAPA stay confident with the encouragement of council members and the community.
“We’ve gotten comments from the mayor and other council members saying that what we’re doing is a great demonstration of the need for pickleball courts,” Rosel said.
“Donate money now,” Jones added. “That’s the way we can get this done. If we can get to $150,000 that will really push this project forward.”
Help support AMAPA by sending donations to their website, amapa.club. Questions can be sent to info@amapa.club.