Richmond Heights Plans Highland Road Resurfacing to Add Pickleball Courts

Richmond Heights, Ohio, plans to convert and resurface the courts at 27285 Highland Road into six pickleball courts and two tennis courts under a $164,078 project that the News-Herald says is tied to a final deal with Site Tech Inc. The city meeting packet, however, lists the vendor as Site Technology, Inc. and shows RESOLUTION NO. 25-2026 introduced by Mayor Kim A. Thomas to authorize a purchase agreement through the Ohio Buys program; the excerpt shows only a first reading.

Parks and Recreation Director Cameron Campbell framed the work as an interim solution after a Feb. 24 council meeting, saying, "I call it kind of a band-aid… I would rather put a band-aid on it and give people a pickleball experience and still keep some tennis courts so we can at least have programming rather than wait until whenever we have the finances to do so." Campbell added, "I’m pretty excited for it, too, just because we’re kind of out of date. I think we are the only Hillcrest city without pickleball courts."

City officials have cited safety and misuse as drivers for action. Campbell noted the site contains four tennis courts that "aren’t really used and in really, really bad shape. There are cracks everywhere, very dangerous. Coming from a safety background, I viewed it as very hazardous." He also said the courts had been used as a dog park, with users leaving waste, prompting the city to lock the area.

The resurfacing method laid out in meeting materials is specific: crews will apply tar and geotextile fabric to stabilize the playing area, then add an acrylic system as the base for painted court layouts. The city document stresses the work does not replace subsurface infrastructure, and the expected useful life of this fix is about five to seven years.

Municipal context in the meeting packet lists Mayor Kim A. Thomas and department leads who were part of council business, including Fire Chief Marc Neumann, Police Chief Calvin Williams, Recreation Director Cameron Campbell, Service Director Ryan Tiedman, Human Resources Director Rhonda Lowe, Economic Development Director Chelsey Kovar, Building Commissioner Rudy Hilliard, Finance Director Travian Atkins, and City Engineer Justin Haselton. The packet also introduced related capital items such as a request for architectural and engineering services for a new service department facility and task order work for the 2026 road program.

For comparison, the City of Richmond in British Columbia has proposed $800,000 to build four new pickleball courts at South Arm Community Park as part of a proposed 2025 Capital Budget totaling $152.6 million. Richmond staff describe pickleball as a "fast growing sport in North America" and note the city added nine courts across Hugh Boyd and South Arm parks in 2020. Separately, Richmond Heights, Missouri, lists available pickleball nets on outdoor courts on a first-come, first-served basis and provides local facility details including A. B. Green Park at 7875 Dale Avenue and THE HEIGHTS Community Center contact 314-645-1476.

If the Resolution No. 25-2026 procurement proceeds as drafted, the Highland Road resurfacing will put pickleball courts into play at 27285 Highland Road within a temporary five to seven year window while Richmond Heights officials work on longer term recreation planning and funding.