Liverpool pickleballers serve up replacement for aging clubhouse

Cheryl Horton is the treasurer of the Liverpool Tennis and Pickleball Club. (Rick Conrad)

Pickleball and tennis players in Liverpool will soon be able to use a new equipment shed and washroom facility that’s replacing a 100-year-old clubhouse.

There have been tennis courts at the corner of Park and Church Streets since 1867, and the Liverpool Tennis and Pickleball Club has used the clubhouse near the courts since 1922.

The problem is that while the courts are on land now owned by the Region of Queens Municipality, the clubhouse is at the back of a neighbouring property. Until now, the club and the property’s owner have always reached a deal to let the old clubhouse stand.

But new owners were concerned about the safety of the building and potential liability.

“Over the years, the clubhouse has been used very, very well, and it’s starting to show its age,” Cheryl Horton, the club’s treasurer, said in an intervew.

“Some of the cement pylons that were in place from 1922 have started to crumble.”

So, Horton and the rest of the board decided to stop using the clubhouse and build a new storage shed instead. The 160-square-foot structure will probably be ready this week.

It will house things like tennis and pickleballs, extra rackets and paddles, maintenance equipment and the electrical panel for the court’s lights. The non-profit group will also be installing a chemical toilet, a water cooler and a hand sanitizer dispenser for its 76 members.

“Right now, we’ve had to limit the use of the clubhouse, so it’s been a little bit difficult for the members to come and access anything that’s inside where we store our balls and extra paddles and tennis equipment and stuff like that. So, I think that’s been a little bit frustrating for everyone, but hopefully we’ll be past that when we get the shed completed.”

The shed and other work will cost about $15,000. The region is contributing $5,800.

This project has delayed the club’s plans for a long-needed resurfacing of the three tennis courts. Horton says that work is estimated at more than $100,000 and is vital to keep up with growing demand.

The popularity of pickleball has soared everywhere in the past few years, and Liverpool is no exception. The courts are booked four nights a week by the club’s members, with private groups reserving other times and others dropping into play. Some of their regulars come from as far away as Greenfield and Bridgewater.

“Pickleball has certainly taken off, as we all know, and having three tennis courts that act as pickleball courts are OK, but we find that we don’t have enough. So, hopefully in the resurfacing, we’ll do some reconfiguration and maybe add a fourth pickleball court.”

Horton says that once the equipment shed is done, the club will devote its energy to raising the money needed to get the ball rolling on the court resurfacing.

“We’re ready to grow this membership as big as we possibly can, and then focus on the resurfacing. That’s our next big project.”

For more information on the Liverpool Tennis and Pickleball Club, you can follow them on Facebook.

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com

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