Sterling Heights breaks ground on Red Run Park with six pickleball courts

Sterling Heights broke ground on Red Run Park on May 5, giving the city’s pickleball players a clear timeline for six lighted courts that are expected to open as part of the first new park the community has built in decades. The project is aimed at the southeastern quadrant, where city officials have said open park space has been limited, and it is designed to give residents a larger evening play window once the lights come on.

Red Run Park is being built on a 14.9-acre site and is planned as a full recreation hub, not a stand-alone racquet facility. Along with the six pickleball courts, the city says the park will include a lighted basketball court, a dog park, interior non-motorized trails, a play structure, heated restrooms and other amenities. That mix matters for amateur pickleball because it puts the courts inside a broader family destination, the kind of layout that can keep casual players, parents, walkers and kids in the same space throughout the day.

The lighting is one of the most important details for regular players. Courts that stay usable after sunset expand access for anyone who works during the day and can only get on court at night, and six dedicated courts should give the city enough space for drop-in games, informal ladders and community programming without forcing pickleball to compete for every available slot. City officials have said the park is intended to serve as a regional destination and help meet growing demand for the sport on the east side of Sterling Heights.

Funding for the project comes through the voter-approved Pathway to Play and Preservation millage, a 0.95-mill levy passed in November 2024. City financial documents say it is expected to generate about $5.6 million annually beginning in fiscal year 2025/26, and a city budget document says completion of Red Run Park improvements and the pickleball complex is expected during the 2026/27 fiscal year. A media report placed the construction contract at about $4.7 million and said completion was expected late in 2026.

The park also has a connectivity piece beyond recreation. Planning documents say it will link with the proposed Iron Belle Trail and L.W. Baumgartner Park through a pedestrian bridge over the Red Run Drain, tying the pickleball buildout to a larger network of neighborhood access. Residents who have weighed in have described mixed but mostly positive reactions, with one saying there are many people in the area who need a safe place to walk and another looking forward to the planned dinosaur playscape and the chance to be a “cool uncle” to his nephew.