The newly opened pickleball courts at Crescent Park have already been damaged.
According to the City of Surrey’s department of parks, recreation and culture, the courts were vandalized over the weekend of Sept. 17-18 – just two days after an official ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to mark their opening.
Repair work – to fix “asphalt, nets, fences and other structures at the new courts” – is currently underway, and is expected to be completed in the coming weeks, the city said. The cost of the damage is still being assessed.
One South Surrey resident, whose wife is an avid pickleball player, referred to the vandalism as “a targeted attack” on the sport, noting that other nearby amenities in Crescent Park such as the adjacent sports fields and tennis courts “haven’t been touched.”
The building of pickleball courts in Crescent Park has been something of a contentious issue; Peace Arch News has received a number of letters to the editor in recent months regarding the location of the courts, as well as complaints about the noise the sport – and its athletes – make.
Similar noise complaints have dogged pickleball players and organizations in other cities, including Victoria earlier this year.
nick.greenizan@peacearchnews.com
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