Tucson pickleball players win fee-free access in five-year Udall Park deal

Tucson pickleball players walked out of City Hall on May 5 with a win that mattered where it counts most, on the court. After weeks of backlash over a proposed daily fee, city officials struck a five-year agreement that keeps the Udall Park courts free to use and hands Tucson Area Pickleball the job of overseeing operations and maintenance.

The shift was striking because the mood outside City Hall had changed completely from the protests that followed last month’s fee fight. Instead of anti-fee chants, players showed up with thank-you signs. The message was simple: a public court stays public, and regular play does not get priced out by a charge that would have hit repeat users every day.

The dispute began when Tucson Parks and Recreation issued a notice of intent on April 8 for citywide rate and fee changes under Arizona law. The department said the new charges were based on a cost-of-service analysis and would help cover programs and facility maintenance. Public comment remained open through May 17, a public hearing was set for June 9, and the proposed fees would take effect July 1 if approved. In the sports section of the fee sheet, pickleball was listed at $3.50 per court for 1.5 hours, and Udall was grouped with managed sites such as Fort Lowell, Reffkin and Himmel.

The pushback was immediate. More than 200 people packed an April 16 meeting at Udall Park, where players said they felt ignored before the proposal landed. Leonard Finkel of Tucson Area Pickleball said the community felt like family and objected to not being heard before the decision. The pressure worked. Under the new deal, TAP will run the day-to-day side for five years while the City of Tucson continues to handle the exterior areas outside the fence line.

The agreement also gives TAP room to raise money from sponsors and ask regular players for a minimum $25 contribution to support maintenance and expansion without charging for court use. Plans call for at least three new courts, and the organization says it wants to keep the complex accessible while improving it. TAP describes itself as a volunteer, seven-member board and a 501(c)(4) Arizona nonprofit focused on amateur pickleball in the greater Tucson area.

The broader park project is still moving, too. Morris K. Udall Park has $13,921,199 in Tucson Delivers Proposition 407 bond funds budgeted for upgrades, including covered basketball courts, parking expansion, lighted soccer fields, lighting improvements and other work. Council Member Paul Cunningham helped push the agreement across the finish line, turning a fee revolt into a template other pickleball communities will be watching closely.