The University of Alabama System Board of Trustees approved the first of four development stages for a $1.6 million expansion of the Student Recreation Center courts Feb. 7. The project will create up to 10 pickleball courts adjacent to the Parker-Haun Tennis Facility.
If 10 new courts are built, it will be a 19,866-square-foot addition.
The board approved the project unanimously along with other projects in the first development stage, totaling $75 million. This includes a new student well-being hub and a reserve officers’ training corps facility and student veterans center.
Brady Talley, a graduate student studying finance, said he was excited for the new pickleball courts.
“It will encourage new pickleball players to try it out and increase participation in an already rapidly growing sport,” he said. “Also, it’ll help ease the overcrowding of the existing UA pickleball courts and provide a better playing experience.”
According to the project summary, the new courts “will expand the recreation court facility to address the increasing demand” in order to “reduce existing long wait times for court play.” They will be equipped with “appropriate lighting, access, and security.”
Funding for the expansion will come from the Education Trust Fund Advancement and Technology Fund Supplemental Appropriation Act.
The project is still in its funding and programming phases, with a construction date yet to be announced.
