USA Pickleball grants $50,000 to build courts in Iowa and Kansas

A $50,000 boost from USA Pickleball Serves is pushing two Midwest pickleball projects from idea to buildout, with four permanent outdoor courts planned in Williamsburg, Iowa, and five more at the Hillsboro Sports Complex in Hillsboro, Kansas. USA Pickleball Serves announced the 2026 Play It Forward grant recipients on June 3, and each project received $25,000 to help communities install or convert courts and expand access.

In Williamsburg, the grant backs completion of four permanent outdoor courts inside the Williamsburg Recreation Complex. Pickleball Iowa County says those would be the first dedicated outdoor pickleball courts in Iowa County, a shift that matters because dedicated space can support open play, leagues, clinics, youth programming and community events without competing for taped lines on shared surfaces. Iowa County also agreed on May 1 to give the group $5,000 toward outdoor court construction, adding local support behind a project tied to the group’s mission of expanding free, accessible play through permanent public courts and inclusive programming.

Hillsboro’s project is centered on a site that already serves a wide mix of recreation. The Hillsboro Sports Complex includes three softball and baseball fields, three soccer fields, eight tennis courts, a covered playground and a concession stand. The pickleball addition would bring five dedicated outdoor courts to that active complex. City records show the idea had already been under discussion last year, when Hillsboro Parks and Recreation Director David Ediger told the council on Feb. 19, 2025, that he had a cost estimate for both a dog park and potential pickleball courts.

USA Pickleball says the Play It Forward program is aimed at community organizations and schools that are installing or converting courts to grow the game, and the 2026 application window closed on April 27 with the next round set for 2027. For Williamsburg and Hillsboro, the money does more than help pay construction costs. It moves both communities toward permanent courts that players can schedule around, organize around and return to, which is exactly what rising demand has been asking for.