Pickleball ambassador approaches Weirton Council for support
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WEIRTON -- After helping to usher in the sport for parts of the region, city officials now are being encouraged to improve their offerings for pickleball players in the area.
Members of Weirton Council were approached Monday by Anthony Veltri, a city native and ambassador for USA Pickleball, who expressed concerns with the facilities currently available to pickleball players in Weirton.
More than two years ago, a group of city residents approached the Weirton Board of Parks and Recreation about establishing permanent pickleball courts within the city park system. In the time since, areas of the tennis courts at Starvaggi Memorial Park have been set off for use, and the group has transformed into an association of hundreds from throughout the Tri-State Area.
The courts, though, aren't necessarily reliable, Veltri said, with cracks and other surface issues arising, potentially creating safety issues. Meanwhile, other communities have established courts of their own, both indoors and outdoors.
Veltri encouraged council to step up and find ways to solve the issues at Starvaggi Park, or perhaps establish a playing area elsewhere in the city.
"The longer we wait, the further we fall behind other communities," Veltri said.
Ward 2 Councilman Chris Jonczak encouraged the pickleball association to approach council with a plan.
"Put something together and ask us," Jonczak said. "We don't know unless you ask."
Ward 4 Councilman George Ash, however, felt as pickleball is a matter of recreation in the community, it is not necessarily under council's purview.
"It's the Park Board's business, not ours," Ash said.
Ash also expressed the idea that if the courts at Starvaggi are unsafe, all activity on them should be stopped until a way to fix them can be established.
Parks Executive Director Coty Shingle pointed out the issue with the courts is a result of slag and other materials used as a base when the courts were built, putting them in a constant mode of shifting and settling and resulting in the cracks.
The Park Board has contracted with firms on multiple occasions in recent years in an attempt to correct the issue, only to have it return within months.
"The material it's built on is never going to support a sustainable surface," he said.
Ward 5 Councilwoman Flora Perrone asked about the use of the tennis courts at Marland Heights Park, but was told there are no lines established for use in pickleball. Some pickleball players, in the past, have used chalk to establish temporary lines, but conflicts also have arisen between the pickleball players and tennis players who use the courts.
Veltri was asked if there had been any efforts to fundraise, but he explained the local group is not registered as a non-profit, and, as a result, is unable to do so.
Shingle, though, said the Park Board is registered as a 501-C-3, and would be able to work with the pickleball association to organize fundraisers and even establish an account to hold any money raised.
Shingle told Veltri, the Park Board is aware of the concerns and has been looking at options.
"You are on our radar," he said, adding much of the delay on their park is a lack of available funding.
He explained one of the possibilities discussed has been to establish a standalone pickleball court at Marland Heights Park, with an eye on the area which currently is home to the basketball courts. That and other ideas are part of a series of proposed improvement projects at the park.