With growing interest in town in pickleball following the pandemic, the Board of Selectmen approved $100,000 from the town’s remaining American Rescue Plan funding for pickleball courts at its October 16 meeting.

The courts have been added to the Capital Improvement Plan in year two, 2025-26, with $350,000 allotted for the project. There is no town money allotted for the project other than the ARP funds, and no town bonding for the project; instead, First Selectman Dan Rosenthal said that local pickleball groups can fundraise for the rest of the project funding.

“There’s growing interest in the sport of pickleball,” said Rosenthal. “All the town’s temporary courts are used pretty regularly.”

The current plan would build eight courts. The location of the courts is undecided, but the Fairfield Hills campus is often brought up in connection with building courts.

Rosenthal noted that a few years ago, the town put $265,000 into the CIP for pickleball courts, but it failed at referendum. He said he would not be in support of another attempt to bond money, but using ARP funds and then allowing the group to fundraise the rest was a way he could be supportive of it.

Tom Long, a current Legislative Council member who is also a founding member of the Fairfield County Pickleball Club, said pickleball is “more than just hoops or courts in basketball,” and more than just Parks & Recreation facilities.

He said that the COVID pandemic forced many to isolate themselves, but in its wake groups like pickleball are picking up steam as ways for people to be social once again. The club he is in has 500 members and is “growing every month.”

“In my own participation over the last six months, I’ve met dozens of people I would never have known,” said Long. “People are at the courts two or three hours at a time.”

Pickleball is a chance for people to connect with one another while engaging in physical activity, Long said. He also noted that there could be an economic development side to increasing pickleball’s presence in town, not only from normal participation at the courts, but also from tournaments.

He said Southbury, Redding, Weston, Oxford, Fairfield, Ridgefield, Westfield and more have had tournaments at their courts. People attending the tournaments would then patronize local businesses and restaurants.

Finance Director Robert Tait noted that the town began with $7.6 million in ARP funding, and approximately $7.4 million has been appropriated. There is $231,000 left to be appropriated, not including the pickleball courts. Of the appropriated money, $4.3 million has been spent. The town has until 2024 to appropriate all the funds and until 2026 to spend all the funds.

Rosenthal said the town would stay “in contact with the pickleball aficionados” between now and 2024, because if they do not fundraise enough for the project, the money could potentially still be reallocated in that year.

With $100,000 in ARP money, Rosenthal said that was a good amount for the groups to fundraise around, as it can be difficult starting from zero. He also said that in year two of the CIP, it gives the groups enough time to fundraise but not so much that interest would not be there because the project is so far off.

He also said it would put the project ahead of a 2026 deadline to expend all the ARP funding.

Selectman Maureen Crick Owen said she wouldn’t have been in favor of bonding the project, but she is supportive of allowing groups to fundraise. She said it helps give the organizations a sense of “ownership” of the project, which contributes to them wanting to maintain things in good condition.

“As this proposal has come forward, I can get behind it,” said Crick Owen.

Selectman Ed Schierloh said that using ARP funding and allowing the pickleball groups to fundraise the rest was the only way he would support pickleball courts.

Associate Editor Jim Taylor can be reached at jim@thebee.com.