ASHLAND — The Ashland Pickleball Association is almost halfway to its goal of raising the money needed for eight “state-of-the-art” lights for the newly installed courts at Cahn Grove Park, said its chairwoman, Norma Sturgeon.
The project is estimated to cost around $95,000. The city of Ashland has already paid for half the project and ordered the materials. But the work won’t begin until the APA reaches its goal to raise its portion.
So far, the APA has raised just north of $22,000, Sturgeon said.
“Pickleball has exploded in Ashland and in our community, plus in the surrounding areas,” she said.
The association has collected 150 names as part of its mailing list.
The APA led the effort to raise around $250,000 in 2021 to fund the building of six new courts at Cahn Grove Park. The courts opened officially in May 2022.
Cahn Grove Park features lights already, but they are not adequate for night playing, Sturgeon said. The eight light poles — each pole will include three lights — will allow pickleballers to play until 10 p.m., when city parks close.
The lights project will mean the removal of the old light poles, Sturgeon said.
The U.S. has around 4.8 million pickleball players, or “picklers,” according to a 2022 report. The sport grew nearly 40% between 2019 and 2021, making it America’s fastest-growing sport.
USA Pickleball, a website dedicated to tracking the sport, estimated in 2019 there were nearly 8,000 known pickleball sites and an average of 110 new locations added each month.
Locally, the sport has popped up in places like the YMCA in Ashland and Mansfield, Ashland University, Loudonville and a handful of parks in Mansfield and Lexington.
Darla Plice, of the Ashland Pickleball Association, has said the first year of playing the sport at Cahn Grove Park went so well that it’s almost a problem.
“It’s been incredible … we’re anticipating this year, our second year, for it to be challenging to get a court because there are so many players,” Plice said.
Pleasant Hill Lake Park is currently building two courts that could be done as soon as Memorial Day, said Louis Andres, the park’s program specialist.
