Northampton city officials and other members of the pickleball community conducted a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of six new pickleball courts at Ray Ellerbrook Field Park.
Photo credit: Friends of Northampton Pickleball
NORTHAMPTON — Northampton will soon have a greater stake in the pickleball craze that has captured our country.
On Oct. 29, the city celebrated a groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of six new pickleball courts at Ray Ellerbrook Field Park on 48 Burts Pit Rd.
“This project, supported by so many generous advocates and partners, will foster connections, support active lifestyles and bring joy to players of all ages, abilities, and skill levels,” said Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra during the speaking portion of the groundbreaking ceremony at Ray Ellerbrook Field. “These new courts will be a welcoming place for families, friends and neighbors to come together, stay active and enjoy our city’s beautiful outdoor space.”
Anne-Marie Moggio, the director of the city’s Parks and Recreation Department, said she remembered first hearing about pickleball in 2014 when a coworker from the DPW messaged her about bringing pickleball to Northampton after seeing a news story involving the sport.
Moggio said interest in the sport locally really started ramping up in 2016 and beyond.
“In 2019, we started our first league in cooperation with Look Park, so that’s pretty cool,” Moggio said. “In 2020, former Mayor [David] Narkewicz sat down with me and said, let’s talk about the pickleball … and then we know what happened.”
Following the worst of COVID-19, the city engaged Berkshire Design to conduct a feasibility study in 2022-23 to see where the best location for public pickleball courts could be. In October 2022, the design group presented four potential locations for the pickleball courts: Arcanum Field, Sheldon Field, Ray Ellerbrook Field and Veterans Field.
In that presentation, they cited multiple positives for placing pickleball courts at Ray Ellerbrook including the fact that it already has an active recreation area featuring multi-use playing fields, baseball/softball fields and large grass areas.
By August 2023, the Parks and Recreation Department announced that Ray Ellerbrook Field would officially be the site for the six new pickleball courts. A few months later, the Northampton City Council and Community Preservation Committee approved $350,000 in Community Preservation Act funding to build the courts.
The city and City Council also funded a $29,000 contract for professional design services for landscape architecture, civil engineering and surveying services with Berkshire Design Inc. for the Ray Ellerbrook site. This work included wetlands marks, drainage, underground utilities analysis and a conceptual design.
“We had many community meetings, community input, and that followed with the support of hundreds of enthusiastic players and the city and supporters,” Marie-Moggio said. “Those [CPA] funds, along with the dedication and fundraising of the Friends of Northampton Pickleball have brought us to this point today.”
The Friends of Northampton Pickleball, a registered charitable 501c3 supporting pickleball in Northampton, raised money to help get the construction going and they are currently running a fundraising campaign to raise money for different amenities at the courts like a water fountain, bathrooms, seating, shade and wind screens.
The fundraising campaign is currently available on its site: https://givebutter.com/DxAPjf..
“I think this sport has brought people together in a pretty unique way, and so it’s been an honor to be part of this project,” said Jennifer Bryan, the president of the Friends of Northampton Pickleball Board of Directors. “There’s a lot of history here.”
Construction of the courts is expected to finish by the end of May next year.
