Wheaton’s Northside Park to feature new pickleball courts

The pickleball phenomenon is growing in Wheaton.

One of the oldest and largest parks in town will get three new pickleball courts.

The Wheaton Park District is set to replace part of the existing basketball courts at Northside Park with pickleball surfaces. The district expects the pickleball courts to be completed and open to the public by October.

The courts are being constructed at Northside Park for several reasons, according to Rob Sperl, the district’s director of parks and planning.

“First, we want to provide courts around the community to meet the current demand,” Sperl wrote in an email. “There are other existing amenities at the park including parking. This location also allows us to convert a portion of the existing basketball courts that typically only have a few people playing on them.”

The district will keep two half-court basketball courts at the northeast side of the park, near the Northside Family Aquatic Center. The courts sit more than 200 feet from apartments located to the east.

Park district commissioners have hired Chicagoland Paving for the work. The board recently approved the company’s base bid and a project alternate for $123,800, plus a contingency of up to $79,015 for potential remediation due to poor soil conditions.

“We are expecting additional excavation as a part of the project to ensure we have a suitable base underneath the courts,” Sperl wrote. “Previous construction in the area and soil borings have indicated that this excavation and replacement with stone will be necessary to ensure a long life for the asphalt surfacing and color coating.”

Three new pickleball courts are also coming to Briar Patch Park. The district expects to finish that project off Briarcliffe Boulevard at the end of July.

The district also offers coed outdoor leagues for fans of the popular sport. Those leagues play at the Central Park pickleball courts.