In October 2019, a few avid pickleball players came together to form the North Platte Pickleball Club. At that time, we had no place to play pickleball outside, only a couple of inside facilities, including the North Platte Recreation Center and the 40,000 square foot indoor facility – D&N Event Center. After searching the community for options, we decided to pursue the City of North Platte with revamping the old basketball court at Memorial Park into outdoor Pickleball Courts. We volunteered to fill cracks, prepare the site, hand paint lines, and supply our own temporary nets to be able to share the love of Pickleball with the community. There was a lot of heart, creating this facility, but not the expertise needed to do the job. The painted concrete play surface quickly became cracked, peeled and dangerous for play within 6 months. Regardless, members of the growing Pickleball Club volunteered countless hours to give free instruction, including all equipment needed to learn the game for any and all in the community.

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On June 23rd , 2020, North Platte Pickleball, North Platte Tennis Association, North Platte High School

Tennis Coaches & Team Parents formed a Task Force to work together to completely rebuild Cody Park (8) Tennis Courts and add 8 dedicated pickleball courts. Both associations chose to work together to rebuild this top-quality facility for and with our community, add dedicated pickleball courts to keep up with the demand and hope to improve the overall health & well-being of North Platte.

 

During this time, our small group of 12 pickleballers grew to over 64 in a short 10 months, the City of North Platte Parks & Recreation and Mid-NE Community Foundation was inspired by the excitement and helped with renovating Memorial Park to be a better and safer place for the community to play Pickleball, while we put our heads together to come up with a plan on the expansion of Cody Park Tennis Facility. A ribbon cutting for the Memorial Park Pickleball Courts was held in June 2021 at the 1st Annual NEBRASKAland Days Pickleball Tournament and Celebrity Paddle Battle, which is now an inaugural event. Additionally, Mid-Plains Community College helped us to start Beginning Pickleball classes while also allowing us to use their facility for leagues and tournaments, when needed.

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Due to the overwhelming response of pickleball in our community and the recently rejuvenated local

high school tennis teams and local tennis association, and the addition of a task force member including Visit North Platte/Play North Platte who were inspired by the growing sport, we received approval from the North Platte City Council to move forward with the Cody Park Tennis/Pickleball Court Project, total cost estimated around $850,000.00. The task force hit the community for grants, donations, and more to raise $500,000 to help provide an outdoor tennis and pickleball facility in North Platte, with the commitment that the City of North Platte would provide the rest of the funding to complete the project. The task force received grants from Mid-NE Community Foundation, Visit North Platte, numerous donations, and fundraised through many indoor and outdoor tournaments and events over the course of the past 2 years. A final presentation was held at the City Council meeting on November 7th, 2023 and voted 7-0 to let the project commence, with an updated design of 10 Pickleball Courts & 8 Tennis Courts, and an estimated completion date of Summer/Fall 2024, depending on contractor availability to complete the project at that goal.

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Now – North Platte Pickleball currently has over 180 members, 5 annual tournaments, along with daily/weekly indoor and outdoor leagues, numerous other tournaments and instructional clinics offered.