Wetumpka residents now have another athletic outlet thanks to the completion of new tennis and pickleball courts at the Wetumpka Sports Complex.
A joint project between the City of Wetumpka, Elmore County Commission and the Elmore County Board of Education brought the complex to life. The project includes a football stadium, baseball and softball fields and now eight new tennis courts.
“We have had so much interest, it was important to get those opened as quickly as possible,” Wetumpka Parks and Recreation Athletic Program Director Tiffany Chandler said. “We had the final walk through with the contractor on Monday afternoon. We opened the courts Tuesday.”
The eight courts are lined for both tennis and pickleball and have the adjustable nets needed for either. Chandler noted with all the interest in the courts, there is still more to come around the tennis courts such as seating.
“There are several things still to be done,” Chandler said. “There will be other amenities to be built in the area of the tennis courts.”
Chandler is especially excited about the lights on the tennis courts. The switches to the lights will be powered starting 30 minutes prior to dusk and turned off at 10 p.m. There are two push buttons tennis court users can use to turn the lights on for up to two hours during that time frame. The lights will always turn off automatically at 10 p.m. regardless of when the button was pushed.
Chandler said signage will be added in the coming weeks to better explain who the lights work.
The project is funded by the City of Wetumpka, Elmore County Commission and the Elmore County Board of Education.
“Everything is a joint effort at the Wetumpka Sports Complex,” Chandler said. “Part of the agreement is Wetumpka High School athletics will take precedence over our facility.”
The idea is high school and middle school athletic teams have first priority in scheduling the courts and then the public can use them.
Chandler hopes pickleball will take off like in her hometown where there are covered courts.
“Interest is growing here,” Chandler said. “In Opelika it’s huge. I do think it will be a big hit here especially with our middle age to our older community. With pickleball they can still be active outside and it does not cause as much stress on the joints and body.”
