New Pickleball Courts Ready At Lakeshore Park

Thursday, April 13th, 2023

The demand for pickleball courts is high in Dalton and across the nation. Thanks to the addition of six new temporary courts at the Lakeshore Tennis Complex, the Dalton Parks and Recreation Department now offers 12 outdoor courts for the fast-growing sport. 

The new temporary pickleball courts have been created over three existing tennis courts at the facility. Lines for pickleball have been painted over the tennis courts to create six pickleball courts over three tennis courts. Temporary nets can be installed for pickleball use, and then removed to allow for tennis play.

Caption: Workers add the lines for pickleball courts to three tennis courts at the Lakeshore Park Tennis Complex.

"It's going to be shared use there. Those (three) courts aren't used a whole lot for tennis right now unless there's a big tournament," said Will Chappell, recreation superintendent for the Parks and Rec Department. "For general league play, they don't use those particular courts as much. That's why we painted pickleball lines on them, and if on down the line we’re able to actually make a complex for pickleball, these will be easy to take back up and use just for tennis again."

The Parks and Recreation Department plans to create a schedule soon for when the new Lakeshore Park courts will be available for pickleball play and when they'll be configured for tennis. In addition to the six new temporary courts, there are also six permanent outdoor pickleball-only courts located at Brookwood Park. The Parks and Recreation Department also offers indoor courts for the sport at the Mack Gaston Community Center.