There’s a new game in town at Sherwood Park, and players are already serving up plenty of excitement.
“They’re great! We needed them,” said Paso pickleball player Karla Tomasini.
Thursday morning, City leaders and members of the Paso Robles Pickleball Club celebrated the completion of a new $3.4 million pickleball complex with a ribbon-cutting.
“It was a longtime in coming,” said Paso Robles mayor John Hamon. “Ever since COVID, when we received funds from the American Recovery Act from the federal government, we’ve been planning this and finding a place that we can do as many courts as we could. This is an amazing, available spot in old Sherwood Park that we are trying to revitalize anyway.”
After the ribbon cutting, the new courts officially opened with a ceremonial “first dink,” then it was game on, and the sound of pickleball paddles began to echo across the park.
With only a few other courts in the area, pickleball players say these courts are filling a huge need.
“When we have five courts that are getting a thousand players a month, it really shows what it can do for the city, for tourism, for city morale,” said Paso Robles Pickleball Club President Cari Buchanan.
Pickleball players say the sport has been rapidly growing in popularity in Paso Robles, and they say they know why.
“Oh, it’s so addicting!” said Tomasini. “The first time I played, I was like hooked and now…"
“It’s good physically, emotionally, socially, it’s all good!” said pickleball player Liz Adams.
Tomasini and Adams met on a pickleball court, became fast friends, and now play together all the time.
Because, players say, pickleball is more than just a sport or community; it’s like family.
“It’s a very close, friendly social sport, and people help each other - if you’re just a beginner, you get help; you need help outside the courts, there’s somebody there for you,” said Paso Robles Pickleball Club ambassador Larry Werner.
The addition to Paso’s popular park features seven new lighted pickleball courts, along with a new picnic and barbecue area, shade structure, and restrooms.
The courts are always secured with combination locks, but the code to unlock them is readily available when you call recreation services, so they’re accessible to anyone who wants to join the fun.
City leaders say this is only phase one for Sherwood Park, with more lighting and field improvements expected next year
