I agree with Brent

I completely agree with Brent. I have been in Brooks for almost 8 years, and since moving here haven’t seen any support for the tennis and pickleball community. I am a professional pickleball player and have been travelling across North America playing at the highest level for the last several years. Even though there are “lines” on the tennis courts in Brooks, the tape is hazardous and the lack of city support to build permanent pickleball courts is a joke. Pickleball at multiple times in the winter had 29-30 players playing on 5 courts at the JBS centre. Imagine if we had suitable courts available outside? Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in North America and is an extremely accessible sport for all ages. If the city truly wants to promote active living, shouldn’t they support in building at the minimum some designated pickleball courts? As a professional, I’ll need to be preparing actively for my events and tournaments, and as of right now I’ll be traveling to Rosemary and Medicine Hat to use their dedicated facilities, because the ones in Brooks are a joke.

The courts near St. Joseph’s Collegiate are not even legitimate tennis courts due to the tiles used. No professional tennis association worldwide would use these. Additionally, they don’t have pickleball lines and therefore for 99% of the time are left vacant.

The facilities in Brooks for tennis and pickleball are honestly disappointing. I’m sure the participants in the Alberta Summer 55+ games felt the same way. I hope the city does something about this, because as someone who’s lived here for the majority of the last decade, to see no improvement or priority to these facilities is encouraging me to move.

Your complaint has been received and an investigation will be initiated.

The strange plastic tile they have at the Catholic School should be removed and BOTH of the courts at SJC and GPS should be redone. The excuses for not having one or the other done is asinine. They can't say they don't have the money, due to an ongoing fibre project that's burning through money.

I also agree with Brent. It’s a very sad situation when there is such a lack of interest on the city of Brooks to at least maintain what is available to us. Which, is not much! If they were truly interested in everyone living a healthy lifestyle, they should move forward not backwards. No more excuses!

I agree with Brent. Recreation is important and a key part of community building. It is vital to the health and wellness of our city to ensure we offer adequate facilities and resources that enhance the lives of citizens.

First of all, I would like to say I am in full agreement with what others on this platform have written about the total lack of support for Pickleball and Tennis in the City of Brooks.
I am an active Senior and I find the attitude towards providing safe facilities for Pickleball in Brooks really disappointing. I play outdoor Pickleball most days at the Griffin Park tennis courts, and the condition of the surface is unsafe. There are holes that are a tripping hazard and the entire surface needs to be redone. I hope I'm wrong, but from what I have seen, there is little support for senior activities in comparison to activities for youth in Brooks. There seems to be money and support for soccer fields, football fields, skateboard park, playgrounds, etc yet the Pickleball courts are totally ignored to the point of being nearly non use able. Is this fair for Seniors? Last summer we asked for the padlocks to be removed from the cages so we could get the Pickleballs if they were hit in there and that seemed to be far too much trouble and took several weeks to get done. During the 55+ Summer Games in 2023, I was playing Pickleball when seniors from other communities came to play Pickleball and Tennis. They literally could not believe a city this size had no designated Pickleball courts and the ones we were playing on were a joke. Come on Brooks, let's do better for our Seniors, our Pickleball players and our Tennis players. I look forward to your full support to make the necessary changes that are needed to the Griffin Park Tennis Courts. And if you see fit, a Pickleball facility like Rosemary has would be an excellent addition to this city. I challenge the city Recreation Department to travel to some similar sized cities and see their Pickleball and Tennis facilities and compare them to ours. It might be embarrassing.

I am in full agreement with Brent and with all the comments on this post. I believe It is time for the City of Brooks to be proactive instead of reactive. While we are all fully aware there are serious issues that face the city (housing, rising cost of living, etc) but at the same time we need to take steps to ensure we are looking after the health and wellness of the residents of Brooks and area. This is where recreational activities are important. As a community we have to have the foresight to see doing things now will cost less and be more beneficial than waiting and reacting. I am willing to meet with the city to see how our pickleball group can help.

Pickleball is the fastest growing sport and it is played by ALL ages. There is a strong community of pickleball players that would only grow if there were permanent outdoor pickleball courts in Brooks. With permanent pickleball courts there could be summer camps for kids, learn to play pickleball sessions, outdoor leagues for different age groups and levels and could even host pickleball tournaments that could bring people to Brooks.

There are pickleball courts to be built at the old rodeo grounds when they get moving on that

This was reviewed for the 2024 budget and because of funding and priorities, it was postponed, as noted. Staff will bring forward again during the 2025 budget and these comments will be provided as back-up.

So just to be clear, the City prioritized something over a project that was 3-5 years overdue when it has been made crystal clear to the City that this needed to be done? Who made that decision and what is the justification? If it takes two weeks for the City to respond to something like this with a stock comment that took zero though, I stand firmly beside my initial comment regarding the ineptitude of those in charge of the budget. I think it's clear that the maintenence schedule needs to be shared with stakeholders because there is clearly no accountability here.