City staff say annexation filed for East Boulder site; plan would add courts, indoor facility with CU partner

Boulder Parks and Recreation staff told the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board that the city has submitted an annexation application for the triangular parcel known as Hogan/Pankost and is planning new courts and an indoor facility there.

The move matters because the land is outside city limits (Area 2 under the Boulder Valley Comprehensive Plan) and must be annexed to allow park development. Staff said the site would combine stormwater infrastructure and park uses while adding tennis and dedicated pickleball capacity where tabletop studies show few low-noise sites exist.

Staff presented the court system plan and a package of projects to increase court supply while minimizing neighborhood impacts. Natalie (Parks staff) told the board, “we have officially submitted our annexation application,” and described a likely build area of about four to five acres adjacent to the existing East Boulder Community Park. The proposal calls for up to eight new tennis courts (a net gain of three tennis courts because five existing courts will be converted to dedicated pickleball) and space for up to 12 pickleball courts; staff also described an indoor, year-round facility that CU would help fund.

Staff said the planned indoor facility would include covered courts CU's athletics department would use for practice; CU’s use was described as limited—less than 5%—and the rest of the hours would be open for community programming under a future operating agreement. Allie (Parks staff) and Jackson (project staff) said the city will need a formal intergovernmental agreement with CU and that the project still requires zoning and land-use review after annexation; planning board and city council approvals are next.

The board heard that Tom Watson Park (60 Third and Iris) is being advanced as an immediate, lower-complexity project to deliver 12 dedicated pickleball courts this year. Staff said funding for Tom Watson totals about $2,016,000 in the class C estimate with roughly $1.6 million currently identified and a funding gap of about $400,000 for lights and other amenities. Play Boulder (the local parks foundation) will run a capital campaign and staff said they are pursuing USTA and AARP grants and other philanthropy to close gaps. Scott (courts staff) said the department is switching to post‑tension concrete for rebuilt courts to extend life cycles “up to about 50 years,” a change staff said will lower long-term maintenance costs.

Staff emphasized flood and wetlands analysis already completed on the Hogan/Pankost site and said much of the site’s design will be coordinated with flood-mitigation and groundwater experts. Natalie noted the parcel is not raw land — historically it hosted rodeos and ranch buildings — and that some areas will remain natural to balance more intensive court development. Staff reported neighborhood outreach and said some adjacent property owners are generally supportive while others may raise traffic or sound concerns during the public review.

Next steps: annexation approval, land-use/zoning review, class B cost estimating (staff said a class B estimate is expected in March), and final design before construction. Staff said the annexation moves the parcel from Area 2 to Area 1 under the Boulder–county agreement, a necessary legal step before building.

What remains unclear: final indoor-facility size and operating model, exact funding allocations for East (staff said some infrastructure costs such as crossings are still being analyzed), and the final schedule for construction once land-use approvals are complete.

—Evidence: staff presentation and Q&A with the board; fundraising and grant-seeking plans are underway, and immediate court capacity will be increased at Tom Watson Park while the East site proceeds through annexation and permitting.