Two pickleball courts are coming to Clarkesville after a unanimous council vote at their Monday meeting.
Local Pickleball Ambassador Peggy Fortson approached the city council some time ago, asking them to consider adding pickleball courts to the city’s infrastructure. The council was interested in the idea as they continue to work on updating Clarkesville’s Mary Street Park.
Monday, the council agreed to move forward with the construction of two pickleball courts for a total of $82,000. Signature Tennis Courts of Woodstock, Georgia, the same group that the county commission was advised to consider for their court resurfacing, was awarded the project.
One citizen asked if the decision to build the two courts would have any bearing on the county’s decision to resurface two tennis courts at the Ruby C. Fulbright Aquatic Center to become pickleball courts, which has generated heated discussion for weeks.
While the city has no say in the county’s decisions, Habersham County Commission Chairman Bruce Palmer says that he still supports resurfacing the courts.
“In my opinion resurfacing the two courts makes sense,” Palmer tells Now Habersham. “I know that isn’t going to be popular with the tennis players but we agreed to pursue resurfacing back in November. Tennis will still have 8 courts available for public play throughout the county. [We are] also working with Habersham County Schools to utilize their 6 courts for tournaments.”
He says the city’s decision could have an influence on their decision, but they are unaware of the city’s plans at this time.
Fortson says that the more pickleball courts Habersham has, the better. She says that the county is behind in terms of the number of courts it has in comparison to surrounding counties and that as the sport continues to grow, the need for courts will grow.
“That’s not too many to have, that would be wonderful,” Fortson said. “The more [courts] you have, the more you’re able to draw larger crowds for tournaments.”
She says the Mary Street location will be beneficial for both pickleball players and business owners.
“I’m thrilled, I think it will be a huge benefit for that location,” Fortson says. “I know that they wanted to revitalize that area. I think it’s a perfect location, close to downtown, eating establishments, shops and that type of thing, so I think it’ll be great.”
