Pickleball Courts Officially Open In UWS Section Of Riverside Park

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — Pickleball mania is here and five courts just officially opened in Riverside Park on the Upper West Side.

The five courts opened within the park near West 110th Street, within a cement area in between the basketball courts and newly renovated skate park.

"The community has already been enjoying the courts, and we’re so excited to officially welcome this popular and fast growing sport to the Park," the Riverside Park Conservancy tweeted out on Tuesday. "What can we say — it’s a big *dill*"

Welcome, Pickleball! ✨

Today we celebrated our five new Pickleball courts at 110th Street. The community has already been enjoying the courts, and we’re so excited to officially welcome this popular and fast growing sport to the Park. What can we say — it’s a big *dill* 💚 pic.twitter.com/3cG9QCLRwC
— Riverside Park Conservancy (@RiversideParkNY) July 25, 2023

The pickleball courts in Riverside Park have been open to varying degrees since the beginning of July, but the official opening took place Tuesday.

The courts are free to play on and deploy a first-come, first-served basis — with no online sign up required.

This comes in stark contrast to the pickleball court complex that opened in Central Park at the beginning of the summer, where courts during peak time go for $120 an hour, and courts for off-peak reservations cost you $80.

Pickleball is America's fastest growing sport, jumping nearly 40 percent between 2019 and 2021, according to the New York Times.

However, that rise has sparked confrontations about shared public space across the city, with parents and players swatting at each other from the West Village to Hell's Kitchen to the Upper East Side.

That turf battle has centered around how much space in public parks should be taken over by pickleball courts, especially when it takes away area from children trying to play.

The Riverside Park Conservancy's strategy on this matter was to deploy the previously unused cement space in between the skate park and the basketball courts, instead of taking away from the two already set up and popular sporting areas.