Pickleball courts at the North Elba Athletic Fields.
(Enterprise photo — Delainey Muscato)
LAKE PLACID — The town of North Elba proudly presents two brand-new pickleball courts.
In the last few years, pickleball’s popularity has skyrocketed, mainly because all ages can play the sport and pick it up rather quickly.
To keep up with the demand for the sport in the area, the town of North Elba recently finished two pickleball courts at the North Elba Athletic Fields off Recycle Circle Lane. North Elba town Supervisor Derek Doty showed the new courts to the Enterprise, explained their origin story and shared future plans for the venue.
Originally, four beach volleyball courts sat at the back of the athletic fields. Two of the volleyball courts remain, and two new pickleball courts replaced the other two.
Doty said the town began building the courts about three years ago and have just about finished them. Right now, a gap exists between the fence and the base of the court. Doty said they have plans to fill that in for safety reasons.
“We don’t want anyone to get injured stepping on or off. We’re going to make it all level,” town Councilman Dick Cummings said.
In addition to filling in the rest of the court, Doty said they have some landscaping to finish and they still need to remove the posts from the old volleyball courts.
“We’re going to get cameras, too,” Doty said. “Not just for security but also so people can see what’s going on up here.”
While he does not have a timeline for the cameras in place, Doty said people will be able to access the cameras on the town’s website.
About a month ago, the courts had their soft opening. The opening did not go as smoothly as Doty and other members of the town council had hoped.
“A deluge came down that afternoon,” Doty said.
Heavy rain washed away the blue court paint that had just been finished that day. In all, $2,500 worth of paint had to be squeegeed off and redone, Doty said.
Bob Testa, Summit Lacrosse Ventures facility and operations manager, shared how the lacrosse fields and new pickleball courts will work hand in hand.
“Parents that have seen their kids play (lacrosse) 1,000 times can drop their kids off. Then they can come over here and have something to do,” he said.
Testa said the lacrosse tournaments bring many new visitors to the area, which can bring benefits and challenges.
“(Business owners) love it because it’s additional people,” he said.
Doty said the town’s master plan includes connecting the horse show grounds to the athletic fields to streamline traffic.
Right now, the fields are tucked away far behind the horse show grounds and the Lake Placid airport.
Testa said he often helps people find their way to the athletic fields from the horse show grounds.
Cummings said another part of the town’s plan included adding a mountain bike pump track somewhere within the athletic fields by next summer.
The courts are open daily.
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