(Nolan Kowal/paNOW Staff)

By Nolan Kowal

Carlton Park Upgrades

New pickleball courts among Carlton Park upgrades

Sep 14, 2023 | 5:51 PM

Prince Albert residents now have a new spot to play their favourite game of basketball or pickleball.

Carlton Park Community Club in Prince Albert unveiled its new upgrades on Thursday which include a repaved surface for new pickleball and basketball courts.

The refurbishments cost a total of $160,000, with $130,000 coming from the City and $30,000 from the community club. The upgrades were put in last fall.

“It’s very grateful that we can do something like this for the community,” said Jim Flynn, the president of the Carlton Park Community Club. “The impact is going to be great in the future for lots of people. Not only around this community but even for the city of P.A. There’s lots of people that have friends from other areas of town and they can come and play.”

New pavement was put in on the playing surface with new lines painted. Netting has also been installed to keep balls in play.

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Flynn added that there is no charge to use the courts and they are available on a first-come-first-serve basis.

In the wintertime, the surface will continue to be used as an outdoor hockey rink.

(Nolan Kowal/paNOW Staff)

City Councillor Blake Edwards explained why pickleball and basketball were prioritized by the club.

“It’s a wonderful feeling seeing everybody be active and have the opportunity to be active in the community,” said Edwards, who is also a board member for the club. “Basketball is such a huge thing and pickleball is growing every day. So the choice of those two sports to add to our club was a wonderful idea. So many people can participate right from little kids to senior citizens.”

Edwards added that the club could host future pickleball events given the growing popularity of the sport.

“It’s a very big sport now…everywhere you look it’s pickleball, and there’s pickleball clubs popping up in every city and there’s tournaments,” he said. “We hope to host some tournaments right here at this facility and within the city there’s several pickleball courts. So it’s nice, it’s a nice addition to the City of Prince Albert.”

The City said Carlton Park had been identified in the State of the Playgrounds report in 2022 as a park that required immediate updating and refurbishment.

Flynn said the upgrades make Carlton Park one of the nicer community clubs in the city.

“I would think it would be one of the top ones now, as far as the rinks themselves go. The outdoor rinks…there’s not too many of them that are paved. There is a few of them with concrete and stuff in them as well, but I don’t know of any of them that have this kind of facility like we have here right now,” he said.

Carlton Park Community Club is in Crescent Heights along Dunn Drive in Prince Albert.

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nolan.kowal@pattisonmedia.com