The pickleball is in the city's court.
City council directed staff on Monday night to come up with options to help pay for installation of six tournament-level pickleball courts at the Prince George Tennis-Pickleball Club.
The club is seeking as much as $45,000 from the city to go along with $15,000 it is to receive from Northern Development Initiative Trust if a contract to carry out the work is signed by Jan. 21, 2020.
The plan is to convert two of the club's existing tennis courts into pickleball courts. Between 120 and 150 club members play the game, board member Dan Teichroeb told council.
He said the popularity of tennis has waned while interest in pickleball, which is played on a smaller court with paddles and a perforated ball, has grown among seniors.
"It's a game that's totally different from tennis," Teichroeb said. "You don't have to be able to run at breakneck speed from one side of the court to the other. We usually play four on four, it's much more of a strategic game than the game of tennis."
With proper courts, qualified instructors and good marketing, the club's membership could grow by 10 to 15 per cent a year, Teichroeb also said.
Providing the money out of council's contingency budget was briefly considered before councillors learned there is only $50,000 left in that account. From there, the item was referred to staff to come back with suggestions which could include finding the money from another source within the city's existing coffers or add it to the so-called enhancements council will consider when setting the property tax levy for 2020.
In the meantime, councillors suggested the club could do some additional fundraising to offset the cost although Coun. Frank Everitt likened the project to work the city typically carries out on its arenas and fields and Coun. Murry Krause suggested the money could be found in the city's existing recreation budget.
