ASHLAND — Ashland City Council approved the spending of $46,250 to cover half the cost for lights installed at Cahn Grove Park’s new pickleball courts.
The Ashland Pickleball Association has worked since March to raise the needed $95,000 for the lights, which have already been installed. The city agreed to pay for half, said Norma Sturgeon, the APA’s chairwoman.
Mayor Matt Miller said the pickleball courts, which opened in May 2022, are a great addition to the park located off Cleveland Avenue.
“That was a great way to breathe new life into that park,” Miller said. “So now you’re attracting more and more people to that location and not only does it keep it safer, it also keeps it clean.”
Before the new lights, the park’s lights were not adequate for night playing, Sturgeon said.
The eight new light poles — each pole includes three lights — will allow pickleballers to play until 10 p.m., when city parks close.
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.
