Township adds two new pickleball courts at Haley, Dekker parks

Adjala-Tosorontio is adding two more places to play this summer, with one pickleball court going in at Haley Park in Loretto and another at Dekker Street Park in Everett. The township says play should begin in mid-July, giving casual players, families and beginners two more public options as demand for the sport keeps climbing.

Council approved the courts in the 2026 capital budget, setting aside $220,000 for the project. A procurement report put the final supply-and-installation quotation at $186,219.26 plus applicable taxes from Court Surface Specialists, leaving the township room to stay within the larger budgeted amount while moving the project forward.

The court additions are a direct response to growing community interest, and township budget notes say pickleball has become especially popular among older residents. That matters in small towns like this one, where public courts can become the difference between organized play and a sport that stays locked behind private clubs or long drives to other municipalities.

The two sites already have different strengths. Haley Park comes with a dedicated parking lot, washrooms available to rentals, bleachers and sports-field amenities, which makes it a ready-made summer recreation stop. Dekker Street Park is a 4.47-acre site in Everett, and the township has already been looking at ways to improve accessibility there, including an August 2025 application for an EASE grant and a planned $23,661.98 contribution from the Parks Improvement Reserve if that funding was awarded.

The courts also fit into a much bigger recreation push. The township’s Parks Master Plan identified $2.1 million in development needs for parks in the Loretto, Everett and Colgan areas, putting these additions in the context of a broader buildout rather than a one-off upgrade.

The timing tracks the sport’s surge across Canada. Pickleball Canada estimates about 1.80 million Canadians are playing in 2026, up from 1.54 million in 2025, with Ontario holding the country’s largest player base. In Adjala-Tosorontio, that growth is now turning into concrete asphalt and more open court time.