St. Cloud Holds Ribbon Cutting for New Outdoor Pickleball Courts At Whitney Park

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- Area pickleball players have a new place to get their game on. St. Cloud Park and Recreation held a ribbon-cutting ceremony Wednesday morning to officially open its new pickleball complex at Whitney Park.

Paul Habstritt, WJON

St. Cloud Celebrates Opening of New Pickleball Courts

The new facility features eight outdoor courts, a shelter, and benches. Mayor Jake Anderson kicked things off with a ceremonial first serve followed by open play on the courts. Recreation Manager Marci Sussenguth says they are excited to add the courts to what Whitney Park has to offer:

"We're just wrapping up the punch list and opened up the court early this fall, and so we've had people out here playing; we had our first tournament last weekend. We're just super excited to have the courts and having it be a staple in our park, and bringing more users and different users to this facility."

The pickleball courts were part of the almost $6 million Whitney Park Improvement project that includes updated parking lots and multi-use trail, lights for the parking lots, added and updated lighting for the baseball and softball fields, and a new all-inclusive playground.

Paul Habstritt, WJON

Pickleball Players Get New Place to Play at Whitney Park

The Northern Paddle Pickleball Club also raised over 100,000 for the new courts. Sussenguth says having both indoor and outdoor courts is a huge benefit:

"It's great to be able to have an outdoor facility to match our indoor facility. We do; we get lots of people coming indoors, but people love to be outdoors in the summer. We have the sun and the trees, and it's just beautiful out here and in a park setting and so we're really hoping that people do come out here and utilize the park and see it and be a part of something bigger."

Mayor Anderson says the entire park improvement project is significant for the city because it is the first major upgrade to Whitney Park since the 1970s. The new courts are open from 7:00 a.m. to dark daily.

Paul Habstritt, WJON

Paul Habstritt, WJON

Paul Habstritt, WJON

Paul Habstritt, WJON

Paul Habstritt, WJON

Paul Habstritt, WJON

Paul Habstritt, WJON