Wollman Rink Returns as Urban Pickleball Hub for Spring 2026 Season
CityPickle's 14 courts at Wollman Rink reopen this April for their fourth season, underpinned by a newly signed $100M, 20-year NYC Parks deal securing pickleball's future in Central Park.
More than 180,000 players have stepped onto a court at Central Park's Wollman Rink since CityPickle first installed 14 nets there in 2023, and the 2026 season, which gets underway this month, marks the fourth consecutive spring the rink converts from an ice surface into the largest outdoor pickleball installation in the Northeast.
The courts at 830 5th Ave run daily from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. across all 14 surfaces. Daily open play is priced at $5, and one-hour group clinics, offered at introductory, advanced beginner, and intermediate levels, are $20 apiece. The full programming slate also includes private lessons, leagues, youth half-day and full-day summer camps, and private court rentals for groups of up to eight, with paddle rentals and a pro shop on-site.
The clinics run in partnership with Mount Sinai Health System, which has co-sponsored community-focused programming at the rink centered on pickleball's low joint impact and social engagement benefits. That collaboration has helped position Wollman as a place where brand-new players can get structured instruction for roughly the cost of a cab ride, without committing to a membership.
Session booking runs through the CityPickle app, which is the most direct route to securing court time once April's full schedule opens. CityPickle is prompting players to download it now before the window goes live.
What's different heading into 2026: the original three-year arrangement covering 2024 through 2026 is now running in parallel with a newly signed 20-year licensing deal between NYC Parks and Wollman Park Partners II, a joint venture of Related Companies and CityPickle. That contract is valued at over $100 million to the city, including $91 million in minimum fees and a capital investment commitment of $10.9 million, with the new term formally beginning in May 2027. The 2026 season is the bridge year between an experimental trial and a two-decade institutional commitment. The 2025 season reinforced just how high the ceiling can go: Wollman hosted the Major League Pickleball Finals, selling out the site across the full weekend. CityPickle is also expanding aggressively this spring, with an 11-court facility at Brooklyn Bridge in Dumbo scheduled to open in the coming weeks, and a Times Square flagship featuring seven courts, a full bar, and a restaurant inside the Paramount Building already running since early 2026.
For players who have been using Wollman as their home court since 2023, the picture looks more durable than it ever has: $5 walk-up open play, clinical coaching backed by a major health system, and a venue whose operating license is now locked in for the next two decades.
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