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Cottage Grove reports strong first year for city-led pickleball program; 2025 expansion planned
Summary
City recreation staff said pickleball grew from volunteer-led play into a city-run program in 2024 with leagues, a tournament and 230 club members; staff proposed expanded leagues, added tournaments, youth lessons and a membership goal of 300 for 2025.
Noah Raynham, Recreation Specialist for the City of Cottage Grove, told the Parks, Recreation and Natural Resources Commission that the city’s first full year operating pickleball programming generated substantial participation and that staff plans a larger calendar in 2025.
Raynham said the city offered a summer league with nine men’s doubles teams and 17 coed doubles teams (26 teams total) and expanded to singles and women’s events in the fall, bringing fall participation to 49 teams. He said the program counted 230 pickleball club members in 2024, up from a volunteer-led 30-member group prior to city involvement. “I’m excited to talk about our first year of Pick a Ball,” Raynham said during his presentation.
City staff described club-member priority hours at Glacier Valley and Granada Park and said open play continues on other courts during those times. Raynham said the department ran one tournament in 2024 in sponsorship with the Saint Paul Park and Newport Lions Club (22 teams) and plans two tournaments in 2025 (spring and fall).
On programming and operations, staff listed start-up costs in 2024 — a storage shed, court maintenance equipment (brooms, blowers, squeegees) and other items — and said those one-time costs should decline in future years. For 2025 the department proposed: a membership goal of 300 (membership opens Feb. 24), shortening club priority windows from five hours to three to increase player turnover, adding split-level (competitive/rec) leagues, offering youth lessons and bringing in certified instructors for intermediate and advanced adult lessons. Raynham said youth lessons would likely be split roughly 8–11 and 11–14 years, and that lessons would initially run midday.
Raynham said an internal survey of league teams showed strong return intent: “out of 30 teams, only one team said they weren’t gonna come back,” he said. Commissioners asked about lesson schedules, ages and whether club priorities would limit open play; Raynham responded that open-play courts remain available while club priority hours are in effect.
The presentation concluded without a formal commission vote; commissioners expressed support and thanks to staff.
The commission heard the report at its Feb. 10 meeting and asked staff to circulate the 2025 calendar and membership details as registration opens.
