Grand Island reopens Grace Abbott Park as dedicated pickleball courts

Grand Island has put Grace Abbott Park back in play as a dedicated pickleball site, converting the park’s former tennis courts into public courts that reopened on Monday, June 1. The $49,250 project added fresh surfaces, a new layout for pickleball and lighting, giving local players a purpose-built place to play after work instead of crowding into shared space.

The work began May 18 and was finished by Tennis Courts Unlimited after the company was selected through the city’s request-for-qualifications process. Parks and Recreation Director Todd McCoy said the project was designed to help the city meet rising demand while making better use of existing park amenities, a simple move that delivers court time without waiting for a brand-new facility.

Grace Abbott Park sits at 2101 W. Faidley Ave. and covers 5.4 acres. Before the conversion, the park had two tennis courts, along with an ADA-accessible playground, a baseball field, picnic areas, a wading pool, a bandstand and utilities on site. The courts are available during regular park hours, and the city lists those hours as 5:30 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. daily, which makes the new lighting especially useful for evening play.

The upgrade lands at the right moment for a sport that keeps expanding. SFIA and Pickleheads reported pickleball grew 51.8% from 2022 to 2023, and the 25-34 age group accounted for 2.3 million participants. SFIA also said 24.3 million Americans played pickleball in 2025, while USA Pickleball reported 82,613 known courts and 18,258 known play locations in its database.

For Grand Island, the payoff is immediate: two existing courts are now dedicated to pickleball, the lights stay on later, and casual players have another public option in a neighborhood park that was already built for regular use. That kind of conversion can matter just as much as a flashy new complex, because it cuts the wait for court time where players actually live and play.