Many Glendale residents and west side pickleball players found it difficult to describe how thrilled they were about 12 new pickleball courts in their neighborhood, as dozens of them stood on the bright blue surfaces Saturday morning.
“Words are not enough (to express) how proud we are,” said Okie Heimuli, president of the Salt Lake City Die Hard Pickleballers.
Saturday’s ceremony involved music and dance, and there were lots of cheers and many more smiles. But what happened when the courts were completed a few days before the event may have said enough about how meaningful the courts are.
Crews installed the new nets at Glendale Park, 1375 W. 1700 South, earlier in the week, and pickleballers immediately filled the courts at all hours in the days leading up to Saturday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“This community has a fever, and the only prescription is more pickleball,” Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall joked.
The ‘first chapter’ of a new park
The opening of Glendale’s new pickleball courts marks an “exciting milestone” in the development of Glendale Regional Park, says Kim Shelley, director of Salt Lake City’s Parks and Public Lands Departments. It’s the city’s first regional park in over 60 years, aiming to revive the old 17-acre Raging Waters water park site that closed almost a decade ago.
“They’re the first chapter in a community-designed park built for and inspired by the people who live right here in Glendale,” she said, explaining that every part of the project started with community feedback.
Case in point, pickleball landed on the project radar because pickleball enthusiasts showed up during the city’s first public open house, in March 2022, and never stopped advocating for pickleball afterward.
The city initially planned for four new courts, but that number tripled due to ongoing community demand. Project planners ultimately decided to convert some of the existing tennis courts on the west end of the park as part of the first phase of the new regional park. Three tennis courts still remain.
Part of the demand is that the game had already unified many Glendale residents. The game delighted people of all ages, races and income backgrounds, bringing the diverse community together.
“All those different types of people from the different strata just all come together to play pickleball,” said Glendale resident Jeremy King.
Distance was also factored in. Salt Lake City only had a few pickleball courts at the time, all of which were located on the east side. It wasn’t always easy traveling to them or finding availability. Some residents traveled to other cities or counties to find open courts, Heimuli said.
That’s what makes the new Glendale courts so special for west side residents. They add to the eight new courts that opened in Rose Park last year, meaning that many west side residents can now walk or ride a bike to find a court.
That was the case on Saturday.
“I just love everybody to come here and be together,” said Ifa Motuliki, a longtime Glendale resident who was instrumental in getting the courts built, as he watched his hard work come to fruition.
When will the rest of the park open?
The new pickleball courts were included within the budget for Glendale Regional Park’s first phase of construction, which cost more than $10 million, according to the city. It’s paid for by the $85-million parks bond that residents approved in 2022, as well as impact fees — fees that developers pay during new construction that go toward public benefits like parks.
The rest of the park’s first phase is on track to open this fall, after it hit several delays.
Crews recently installed a sandhill crane-shaped play feature, surrounded by other equipment resembling the colors of the old water park slides. Those are part of an all-abilities playground set to open this year, along with a full basketball court, pavilion, walking paths, new lawn space, native planting areas and a parking lot.
Some park infrastructure and elements of future projects were also rolled into the first phase of construction. Crews ripped out the water park’s old lazy river now because the cost of removing it will likely only increase with time, Jon Ruedas, project manager of the construction phase, told KSL.com. It will make way for a new ice/rollerskating ribbon in the park’s second phase of construction.
Design planning for that phase is underway. It also includes new water features, a skate park, gathering/event space, hiking trails, a hilltop viewing area, new boardwalks by the Jordan River, a kayak rental station and an “iconic” art piece, among other elements. Construction will begin in 2027, before any of the additional features open, Mendenhall said.
The remaining features match other high-demand items from the public planning process. Another $24 million is already dedicated to the park through the bond, but additional funding will be needed.
Mendenhall estimates that the full Raging Waters transformation will cost approximately $40 million to $50 million. While there’s plenty of work still to go, she believes that the outcome will be special in the end because it reflects what residents wanted.
“Glendale Regional Park is going to be the best park in Salt Lake City,” she said.