Grand Island converts tennis courts to pickleball at Grace Abbott Park

Grand Island turned two tennis courts at Grace Abbott Park into dedicated pickleball space, added lighting for evening play, and opened the rebuilt courts to the public after a $49,250 rehabilitation. Work began May 18 and finished June 1, giving the 5.4-acre neighborhood park a clearer pickleball identity at 2101 W. Faidley Ave.

The project was completed by Tennis Courts Unlimited, which the city selected through its request for qualifications process. The work included resurfacing and reconfiguring the existing courts, a quicker and cheaper way to add playable capacity than building a new facility from scratch. The city said the courts are available during regular park hours.

For players, the upgrade changes what Grace Abbott Park can actually do. It is no longer just another daylight-only hard-court stop. With lights in place, the park can handle after-work drop-ins, later-evening doubles, and the kind of small-group play that makes a weekend trip easier to justify. That matters for traveling players, too, because a neighborhood park with dedicated lines and evening access is the sort of place that can support a casual regional stopover, not just a one-off local outing.

Todd McCoy, Grand Island’s Parks & Recreation director, framed the project as a response to growing demand that also puts existing park amenities to work. That fits the broader direction of the city’s parks planning, which has already recognized pickleball as a concentrated recreation asset in Grand Island. Before the conversion, Grace Abbott Park listed two tennis courts; now those same surfaces are serving a sport that keeps drawing new players.

The timing also reflects how quickly the game has grown. The Sports & Fitness Industry Association says U.S. pickleball participation climbed from about 4.2 million players in 2020 to more than 24 million in 2025. In that kind of market, a small project like Grace Abbott Park can punch above its weight: it adds usable court time, extends play into the evening, and gives Grand Island a more appealing base for casual play, local organizing, and future pickleball getaways built around real court access.