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Burlington staff recommend opening Pickleball Complex memberships to nonresidents with fees
Summary
City staff reported lower-than-expected resident use of the new Burlington Pickleball Complex and proposed allowing nonresidents to buy memberships (resident $20/month; nonresident $30/month) and a $3 nonresident drop-in fee, with a planned rollout as soon as Aug. 1 if council approves.
Rachel Vincent, identified in the meeting as the complex’s general manager, told the Burlington City Council on July 14 that the Pickleball Complex—open since May 9—has seen steady but underutilized court hours and that policy changes could increase participation.
"So what I'm coming to recommend to y'all tonight, is to open up the membership, to anyone and not be restricted by residency," Vincent said, presenting eight weeks of operational data. Staff said May recorded roughly 800 visits and June just over 1,200, tracked by scan-ins. The complex offers about 5,300 court-hours per month across 17 courts but was roughly half utilized during May–June.
Vincent outlined the proposed pricing: resident memberships at $20 per month, nonresident memberships at $30 per month, and a $3 daily drop-in fee for nonresidents. She emphasized that the city’s residency policy itself would remain unchanged and that the membership change would only expand who may purchase a paid membership. "Residents pay nothing for that. Nonresidents would pay $3 to come in and drop in and play," she said.
Staff and council members discussed reasons residents have not used the complex as much as expected. Council members and presenters said many Burlington residents currently play in groups at Fairchild courts that include people from outside the city; the residency requirement and a $7 desk fee for nonresidents were cited by staff as deterrents to combined-group play at City Park. Vincent described an operational practice of allowing a one-time courtesy visit for a nonresident’s first visit when courts are not full.
The presentation included a marketing plan to boost membership and programming: targeted social-media and Google display advertising, a referral program for existing members, and a roughly 25-mile outreach radius to draw players and families. Staff also listed upcoming programming to grow use, including youth clinics, one-on-one coaching, a fall tournament called “Battle from Burlington,” and a Halloween “Pickle Boo Bash.”
Council asked about outside tournaments; Vincent said one tournament is under contract for October (the North Carolina State PPA / Southern Pickleball event) and referenced outreach from a regional organizer, Jen Johnson. Vincent said staff prefer an implementation date of Aug. 1 to update the website and marketing materials and to give staff time to prepare, but no formal approval or vote was recorded at the work session.
Next steps: council members indicated they would review the recommendation and arrange to share the same presentation with an absent council member before a final decision. The proposal remains a staff recommendation rather than a council action until formally placed on a future agenda.
