Ground Work Starts For New Courts

After numerous delays, work has started on a new pickleball facility in Vernon’s Marshall Field.

It will be the city’s first dedicated courts for the sport which has close to 400 regular players.

Project manager Don Friesen of the Vernon Pickleball Association says it’s taken some time to move power and irrigation lines at the site.

“We put in 15,000 feet of control wire for that system. We’re now working on the foundation for the pickleball facility itself. We hope to be concreting on Tuesday,” Friesen tells Kiss FM.

Friesen says they had held on the work, noting the average age of their volunteers is 70.

“There’s been a lot of support and volunteers. That has made a big difference in helping out with our cost, and they’ve just been great.”

Friesen says they hope to complete the project next spring, and then will start work on raising a million dollars to put a roof over the courts.

“We are looking for funding, there’s no doubt about it. We need to complete this part of the project, and then we need to work on funding for a new building, and that’s a million dollars.”

The Regional District of North Okanagan has provided a $300,000 grant for phase one.

The group also has a five year sponsorship deal with Trevor Perepolkin at Okanagan Wealth Advisors/Hollis Wealth.