The City of Arkansas City has been awarded a $115,840 Land and Water Conservation Fund grant from the National Park Service, administered through the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks.
The funding will help convert the existing tennis courts at Wilson Park into new pickleball courts. Plans call for a concrete viewing pad, fencing, netting and poles, LED lighting, and wind break screens.
The total project cost is $231,680, with a 50 percent local match provided through fundraising efforts by local pickleball groups. Funding is available from June 1, 2025, through May 31, 2028.
“This is a great example of partnership between local residents, the City, and federal support to make Wilson Park an even better community destination,” City Manager Randy Frazer said. “We’re excited to see this project move forward and grateful to the pickleball community for stepping up to make it possible.”
The grant was awarded under National Park Service Project No. 20-00839. The City will coordinate with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks to administer the funds and complete the project.
In a recent report, the New York Times used aerial imagery from across the national to identify 8,000 tennis courts that have been converted to pickleball over the past seven years. The pickleball playing area is much smaller than a conventional tennis court and allows for multiple courts to be built or created.
The Times report indicated that as of 2024, the U.S. was adding 14 new pickleball courts per day.
