Pueblo residents rally against cuts to City Park pickleball lessons

Pueblo residents gathered at City Park on April 24 to push back against city plans to cut tennis and pickleball lessons from the Parks and Recreation lineup, arguing the loss would hit the people who can least afford private instruction. For many in Pueblo, those classes are not a perk. They are the entry point into a sport that has become part of the city’s recreation culture.

That is why the fight has landed with such force. City Park has become one of the clearest gateways for newer and more casual pickleball players, and the city’s own recreation mission says its programs are meant to deliver cost-effective opportunities that promote inclusive participation, active living, sportsmanship and lifelong learning. Residents say cutting lessons under that banner sends the wrong message, especially for children, teens, adults and families looking for a low-cost way to stay active.

The scale of the city’s racquet-sports setup shows what is at stake. The City Park Tennis Complex has 17 hard-surface courts, with four set aside for Quick Start, and Pueblo Parks and Recreation says it offers spring and summer lessons for all ages, from basic to advanced. Losing those classes would not just trim a schedule. It would remove one of the few public, structured ways to learn the game without paying private-club prices.

Pueblo already has other places to play, but they do not fully replace instruction at City Park. Mineral Palace Park has eight pickleball courts that are free to the public during operating hours, and the Pueblo County Pickleball Association lists City Park courts No. 8 and No. 9 as open to the public when parks programs or school use are not taking place. Courts are one thing; lessons are another. Beginners still need someone to show them dinks, thirds and basic court positioning before open play makes sense.

The protest also fits a longer-running budget fight in Pueblo. In 2024, city leaders scrapped a proposed City Park tennis facility after the project ran into funding trouble. In early April, Pueblo County said it would begin charging fees for some recreation and community center amenities for the first time. Against that backdrop, residents are treating the lesson cuts as part of a larger decision about whether public recreation stays broad and affordable or gets pared down to what the budget can absorb.

Supporters of the program have already organized around that concern. A petition to save the City Park tennis and pickleball programs says the effort has served Pueblo youth for decades and names coach Ed Francis as part of that history. The message from the rally was plain: if City Park lessons disappear, Pueblo loses more than instruction. It loses one of the easiest, cheapest ways to bring new players into the game.