Brookville opens eight free pickleball courts, already drawing heavy play

Brookville’s new pickleball complex is doing exactly what recreational players want most: giving them eight dedicated courts, free access, and no reservation headache. The Brookville Sportsplex courts, near 9th and Mill Street across from the Schilling Center and sharing a parking lot with the Heap Hofer Aquatic Center, opened for play with daily hours from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., and players are already using them heavily.

The setup gives Brookville a rare kind of public court capacity for a town its size. The eight courts are ADA-compliant, and the site sits inside a larger recreation corridor that also includes Brookville Town Park, the aquatic center and the Schilling Memorial Community Center at 900 Mill Street. A grand opening celebration is still planned for later, once lighting and shading work is finished, but the practical reality for players is already in place: walk up, play, and leave the club membership and court fees behind.

That immediate access matters in a sport where court scarcity often limits how often amateurs can play. Brookville’s courts are open every day, free of charge, and require no reservation, which makes the site useful for casual games, repeat local play and the Brookville Indiana Pickleball Club members who have already been using the space. Town council minutes from early April said the courts were getting regular use, and a quote had already been submitted to finish the lighting through Ludwig’s.

The project took shape after club members asked Brookville Town Council to designate the 9th and Mill Street parcel for pickleball. Council agreed, setting in motion a plan that turned a blighted town-owned parcel into a public amenity with fencing, gates, benches, canopies for shade, restrooms and lighting. A Brookville Township grant added $29,651 for fencing, steel benches, shade sails and a bulletin board, with donations also covering lockable gates.

Funding for the sportsplex has come from a broad local coalition. The planning team said it raised more than $647,000 from the town council, the Franklin County Community Foundation, the Brookville Foundation Robert Wissel Donor Advised Fund, the McCullough-Hyde Foundation, the Brookville Pickleball Club and individual donors. Brookville’s $400,000 share came from federal and state grant money received during the pandemic, and a July 2024 state announcement said the broader campaign needed to reach a $39,551 goal by Sept. 27, 2024 to secure matching support through the Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority.

What started as a parcel issue has become a serious public playing destination. For Brookville, eight free courts are more than a ribbon-cutting story. They are a new, reliable place to play.