News

The Grand Opening of the first La Canada Flintridge Pickleball took place on September  28, 2019 (LA Times Sep. 5, 2020), proved to be an ongoing success for the LCF residents.  When this Pickleball court was established on a basketball court behind the skate park on Cornishon Ave., it coincided with the growing popularity of the activity across the USA.

On Mar 10, 2021, a pilot program was established at Glenhaven Park in LCF.  Two courts were developed to test the response to Pickleball and to do a sound test.   

By September 2022, the residents have raised "sound" objections, because of the large number of players, who showed up to play Pickleball. The LCF Council had staff search for alternative locations for Pickleball.  Mayor's Discovery Park became the best locale for Pickleball. It was and still is the best venue for Pickleball today and for generations to come.  The City of La Canada Flintridge had a a $400,000 grant to provide a facility envied by any city in the USA.  Currently, our city failed to mobilize to make it happen. We can only hope in the future that the Mayor's Discovery Park will become a Pickleball facility.

The upside to finding the right location was not without setbacks. The Impact Study conducted by the city, has found the noise level at Glenhaven park excessive, as residents also complained about loud noise (Abc7 Oct. 28, 2022). In June 2023, the Glenhaven pilot location was closing (Outlook Jun 11, 2023), returning the courts back to tennis use, as Cornishon continues to serve pickleball players following an earlier decision by the City of La Canada Flintridge of Oct. 18, 2022.

"The skate park is big enough to accommodate three pickleball courts, along with an area for seating", Councilmember Kim Bowman said (Outlook Sep. 26, 2022).  

Funds to develop Pickleball were allocated in December 2022. But in 2023 the road to success in establishing pickleball courts is not yet over. The lease on the skate park had about nine years left, and an amendment was proposed "changing the [lease] agreement for the joint use 'skate park/mixed-use Pickleball'" on March 9, 2023.

The city and school board agreed to develop Cornishon into three courts.  Today courts under development on Cornishon Ave. offer the best alternative solution and Arabo Parseghian, Deputy Director of Administrative Services, has been leading the effort to bring these courts to tournament standard.  Bids are being sent out in January 2024.  June of 2024 is the projected grand opening for suitable Pickleball Courts in La Canada Flintridge.

"The city will pay for all the expenses needed to shape up the skate park for Pickleball" (Outlook April 4, 2023), as estimated by Parseghian, between $10,000 and $25,000, depending on the extent of the improvements. "Jeffries and Radabaugh consistently brought up the importance of setting the hours" to allow field time for student athletes. The amendment to the agreement was approved on Mar 21, 2023, whereby all school board members "raised their hands and said 'aye' to pass the new pickleball agreement" (Outlook Apr. 4, 2023). 

As for Cornishon courts - as soon as the resurfacing of the courts is completed, the plan is to start Pickleball Tournaments. The draws and Tournament  pages have already been designed by Anna Zueva, our La Canada High School alumna, and will show each team of Tournament players and scoring.  You can start your membership in LCFPickleball today by completing a Green Form below. As we set the date of the first Tournament, we will send you a registration link for your entry into the first La Canada Pickleball.