Orange Beach Opens Free 14-Court Pickleball Complex for Public Play

Orange Beach is about to turn its recreation campus into a much bigger stop on the Gulf Coast pickleball map. The city will open 14 lighted outdoor courts at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 7, at the Rec Center Campus behind the Aquatics Center at 4869 Wilson Blvd., and the courts will be free, open to the public, and available without a reservation.

That matters because the new complex is built for actual play, not just ribbon-cutting photos. The site includes shade cabanas, restrooms, and a covered pavilion, the kind of basics that make a long session workable in Alabama heat. The opening will include a short ceremony, ribbon cutting, free demos for players of all skill levels, light refreshments, and promotional giveaways, giving the launch both a community feel and a clear tourism angle.

Orange Beach is also expanding access instead of shifting it around. The Recreation Center already has six indoor pickleball courts, and pickleball play is included with an annual Recreation Center membership. The city also offers a $10 day pass and 15-session punch cards, while the Winter/Spring 2026 pickleball session runs through May 22 with play scheduled Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Together, the indoor program and the new outdoor complex give the city a mix that can serve residents, snowbirds, and visiting players without forcing everyone into the same lane.

The project has been building for a while. Orange Beach first laid out plans for 14 new outdoor courts in August 2024, then moved forward with the bid process in March 2025. By February 2026, LED lighting and site repairs were underway as part of broader recreation campus upgrades. That timeline shows this was never a one-off amenity; it was a campus-level investment.

The regional context is just as telling. Gulf Shores already has 12 lighted pickleball courts at its Sportsplex, and Foley has been adding outdoor courts of its own. Orange Beach is answering with a 14-court complex of its own, plus the six indoor courts already in rotation. For players mapping a Gulf Coast trip, that makes Orange Beach more than a quick stop. It looks like a place that can hold an entire pickleball getaway.