The Emerald Valley Pickleball Club first approached the Willamalane Parks and Recreation District in Springfield in 2016 about resurfacing unused tennis courts for pickleball. At the time Eric Wold, Willamalane’s superintendent for parks, planning and facilities had never played the sport.
Seven years later, Wold helped lead dozens of club members to call on the Eugene City Council to support a proposed $5 million pickleball facility at a public meeting on Oct. 23, 2023.
“I’m all things pickleball now,” Wold said in a later interview. “I think you’ll hear people say pickleball changed their lives and it certainly changed mine.”
Wold currently teaches pickleball at the Eugene Swim and Tennis Club and has previously served as the president for the Emerald Valley Pickleball Club.
Today, he’s concentrating on securing public funds for the facility.
Wold’s obsession with America’s hottest new pastime represents the sentiments of several local pickleball club members who believe the 31 pickleball courts found across Eugene and Springfield are not enough to meet community demand.
“You can go to Meadow Park in the summertime. The courts will be full, and you’ll see literally 30 or 40 paddles lined up of people wanting to get on the courts,” Wold said in the interview.
The high turnout at the City Council meeting came weeks before the Council reviewed the Regional Pickleball Facility business plan at a work session on Nov. 15, 2023. The plan outlines a design for a regional pickleball complex which would include 24 lit courts, 10 of which would be covered.
The complex would be constructed at Lane Community College, which has agreed to handle security, utilities and restrooms for the facility. The Pickleball Club would be responsible for upkeep, repairs and programming. Benefits of LCC’s location include ample parking and a safe distance from neighbors who may complain about the game’s noise.
Eugene City Councilor Lyndsie Leech mentioned in the Nov. 15 meeting that the pickleball members had a “solid proposal” and that she is “very supportive of putting them on the list of eligible projects” for parks system development charges, a fund that pays for expansion of parks facilities. Funding for the facility was further discussed in a work session Jan. 10, with a final vote set for April.
The business plan projects immediate positive annual revenue from the facility through regional tournaments, lessons, youth programs and court rentals. The business plan details the $500,000 voters already granted the project via a parks levy that the public voted on in Nov. 2022, and the $750,000 they seek through Eugene parks system development charges.
“This is a way for them to satisfy or fulfill their obligation for park and rec services through this unique collaborative partnership,” Wold said of the city of Eugene’s pending financial support. Wold said they are also seeking “multiple hundred thousand dollars from Springfield,” and his former employer Willamalane, which is responsible for Springfield park infrastructure. The Pickleball Club wants $2.5 million in public funding, the rest being sought from private donors.

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