Hell hath no fury like pickleball fanatics scorned. But at present, odds appear to be running against inclusion of pickleball courts in the soon-to-be-redeveloped Gateway Park in Rosslyn.
Only one of three proposed design options includes sport courts, and at least right now, public sentiment apparently isn’t coalescing behind their being included.
Jeremy Smith, a county government staffer who is working on landscape design at the park, said there has been low desire expressed for pickleball in the redeveloped park when compared to other design elements put out for public review and comment.
But, Smith acknowledged, the park can accommodate at least three, maybe more, courts if that’s the way the process evolves.
He made his comments at the July 16 meeting of the county government’s Park and Recreation Commission. Commission members were briefed on the design process to date, and where it heads next.
Max Ewart, the Department of Parks and Recreation’s project manager for the master-planning effort, said that while there currently are three design options on the table, the final design likely will represent a mix of ideas taken from each.
“We’re trying to do our best to see what the community prioritizes, and have that be the final concept,” Ewart said at the Park and Recreation Commission meeting.
At the meeting, Park and Recreation Commission member Alex Sanders came out in support of consideration of pickleball courts. “This seems like a natural fit,” he said.
Proponents of various design elements will have another chance to advocate this fall, with a final proposal expected to be delivered to County Board members by the end of the year. Under the current timelines, a final design would be completed in 2025, with construction beginning in 2026.