NSW grant funds six permanent pickleball courts at Lavington club

A$256,397 in New South Wales government funding is turning a corner for pickleball in Lavington, where two synthetic grass tennis courts are being replaced by six permanent pickleball courts at Lavington Tennis and Pickleball Club. That is more than a surface upgrade. It is a wholesale shift from makeshift access to dedicated court inventory, and it should ease pressure on bookings, open up more regular programming and give the club a better shot at hosting events without squeezing pickleball around tennis schedules.

The scale of the grant stands out because NSW Sport’s Local Sport Grant Program typically offers up to A$20,000 for individual projects, with A$4.65 million available across the 2023/24 round. The Lavington funding is far above that cap, which suggests the court project is drawing from a different NSW infrastructure stream rather than a standard grassroots grant. Even so, it fits the state’s broader aim of increasing regular and ongoing participation in sport and improving access to places and spaces for active recreation.

For players, the clearest change is practical. Today, a club like Lavington can only stretch so far when pickleball is sharing space with tennis or operating as a temporary overlay. Six purpose-built courts change that equation immediately. Social play blocks can run side by side with coaching. Beginner sessions no longer have to compete as hard for court time. Tournament organizers get a venue with enough dedicated space to stage more matches at once, which matters in a sport where demand often grows faster than facilities.

The upgrade also says something bigger about where pickleball sits in regional New South Wales. The club has long presented itself as a family-friendly, all-abilities venue, and permanent courts fit that identity better than shared-use surfaces ever could. Tennis popularity has slipped as pickleball has gained ground, and Lavington is responding with capital investment, not just extra court lines. That is a strong signal that local decision-makers see durable demand, not a passing fad.

Lavington is not moving alone. AlburyCity says the Lavington Sports Ground redevelopment is intended to make the venue one of regional Australia’s premier sporting facilities, and the city also awarded a $14.5 million construction tender for the Lauren Jackson Sports Centre upgrade in August 2024. Add in the seven indoor courts at Australia’s largest pickleball centre in nearby Thurgoona near Albury Airport, and the picture is clear: this part of the Border is building a real pickleball cluster, with Lavington’s six new courts now part of that regional push.