Rideout panel votes to retain tennis, pickleball

After nearly 100 written comments, an open meeting law complaint, and a few tense moments, town leaders are leaning toward compromise on pickleball and tennis at Rideout Park. 

A subcommittee helping overhaul the park’s asphalt courts voted 5-1 last week to recommend maintaining the status quo. Three tennis courts would share space with six pickleball courts once crews finish resurfacing the facility.

If the full Recreation Commission agrees, members will hand a win to neighbors who feared a spike in use if officials were to reline Rideout with courts reserved for pickleball. The game has created controversy in many communities because of the noise it generates. 

Many tennis players also opposed other options as they would eliminate or reduce the number of tennis courts at West Acton’s only public tennis spot.

Pickleball has boomed in popularity, and some players said they should enjoy the kind of exclusive space at Rideout that tennis players enjoy around Acton Center. 

Recreation Commission and Rideout Project Subcommittee Chair Phil Griffiths said the compromise is a “less than ideal experience” for pickleballers, who must set up temporary nets when they want to play. But he noted a robust group plays nearly every day, “so the experience can’t be that subpar.”

Subcommittee member and Recreation Supervisor Mardi Hutchinson said she thinks keeping the setup as is “will make everybody happy — or the happiest we can get.” 

Panelist and Recreation Operations Manager Bob Beatty cast the lone vote against the group’s recommendation. 

Complaints and compromise

Recreation officials also want to resurface courts at Emerson Field. Rideout is in worse shape, so crews will start there. 

A town consultant showcased three possible configurations. These included the overlapping lines, eight dedicated pickleball courts, and six courts alongside a lone dedicated tennis court. 

Tennis players, pickleball players, and neighbors alike eventually weighed in. Area residents Jean Easterday and Ann Sgarzi said officials should have done more outreach and wrote in a new open meeting law complaint, “The lack of process, public input, and transparency has irreparably harmed this project’s credibility.”

The two filed their OML claim against recreation officials, saying the panel offered only limited Zoom access to an October 21 forum. Easterday and Sgarzi also flagged “questionable abutter notification.” 

Assistant Town Manager Jessica Porter told the subcommittee that she was working with town counsel on a formal response. 

What’s next? 

Easterday publicly pushed officials to keep the overlapping lines. Asked after the subcommittee’s tally whether this was the result she wanted, she said, “We still have another meeting to go through, but yes.”

Concordian and pickleball player Irl Smith didn’t attend the session but said the decision was “unfortunate” when told about the vote. He said there’s been “a lot of hope” among the pickleball community for a designated facility and hopes officials change course.

“Having the town kind of kick sand in our face this way — nobody is going to be very happy about that,” he said.

The Rec Commission will discuss Rideout courts on Thursday, but it probably won’t take a final vote until January, Griffiths told The Bridge.

He wants to talk with fellow commissioners about how Rideout fits in alongside other looming recreation projects, especially as resurfacing threatens to cost “significantly more than we anticipated.” 

The overall Rideout court footprint will stay unchanged. Staff hope to finish the refit next year.