Pickleball’s skyrocketing popularity is undeniable. The new sport, a combination of table tennis, badminton and tennis, has become a favorite pastime for those who want to stay social, active and competitive.
Valerie Fischer has been playing pickleball regularly since 2021 and says she really enjoys the sport.
“I like everything about pickleball,” Fischer said. “I like to play it with my friends, the friendship.”
She added that the sport is affordable, with paddles costing $30 and balls $10 for a pack of four.
In response to the sport’s rise, Essex County has created pickleball courts at Branch Brook Park, Verona Park, Grover Cleveland Park and Brookdale Park.
To manage the Brookdale Park tennis courts, Essex County subcontracted Elite Tennis. Elite Tennis has overseen Brookdale Park’s tennis courts since 2005. They now also manage the pickleball courts.
Elite Tennis charges players $8 per person per hour. For frequent pickleballers, Elite Tennis offers season tickets for $275. The courses at Brookdale Park are the only ones in Essex County where players must pay.
“We’re paying for it,” Fischer said. “Why? I don’t understand. But then I don’t work for the Essex County Parks Department either.”
She said she would like an explanation from County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo “as to why Elite Tennis is coming in here and taking over.”
Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill explained that Essex County uses subcontractors at Brookdale Park. Gill is one of nine county commissioners who establish and shape policies for the county, but they do not actually enforce the rules. The county administration is responsible for enforcing Essex County policies.
“There are certain operations in the county that it’s more efficient to use outside vendors to run,” Gill said. “We just don’t have the manpower or the expertise. It just makes more sense to do it through vendors who have specific experience around these particular issues.”
Recently, Elite Tennis’ business practices have come into question. It recently announced a program that offers private lessons to individuals during peak hours, limiting the usefulness of the season pass. The dishes are less available than they used to be.
Nicole Eriksen has been playing pickleball at Brookdale Park since 2020. She commented on the issues with time allocation on the courts.
“You pay for a membership and the pickleball groups come at prime times when I want to play,” Eriksen said. “I’m fine with paying for the season pass. I just think they can’t take all the prime times or they have to let pass holders know in advance when they’re going to have all the courses. If they want three courses, that’s fine, but I don’t think they should have all six in prime time. We’d rather not be here at 8 o’clock just because we have kids.”
In a June 9 email sent to season ticket holders, Elite Tennis defended its decision to limit access to the courts.
“We are expanding our pickleball program offerings in direct response to the many inquiries we have had from players looking to improve their skills or learn to play pickleball,” Elite Tennis wrote. “This is no different than the programs we offer for tennis.”
Nicole Eriksen has been playing pickleball at Brookdale Park since 2020. She commented on the issues with time allocation on the courts.
“You pay for a membership and the pickleball groups come at prime times when I want to play,” Eriksen said. “I’m fine with paying for the season pass. I just think they can’t take all the prime times or they have to let pass holders know in advance when they’re going to have all the courses. If they want three courses, that’s fine, but I don’t think they should have all six in prime time. We’d rather not be here at 8 o’clock just because we have kids.”
In a June 9 email sent to season ticket holders, Elite Tennis defended its decision to limit access to the courts.
“We are expanding our pickleball program offerings in direct response to the many inquiries we have had from players looking to improve their skills or learn to play pickleball,” Elite Tennis wrote. “This is no different than the programs we offer for tennis.”
Access to the pickleball courts is already scarcer than access to the tennis courts at Brookdale Park. There are only six pickleball courts in total, while there are nine tennis courts. The pickleball courts are more in demand.
Conflicts with outside vendors are uncommon, Gill said. Pickleball’s popularity creates constraints on Essex County’s facilities.
“The situation is somewhat unique,” Gill said. “Every time you deal with planning our facilities, there is always a need. We will try to accommodate as many of the different organisations, groups and individuals who use our facilities as possible. Scheduling can sometimes be a potential challenge, especially when we have facilities that are in high demand.”
Gill acknowledged the country’s subcontractors are helpful because they generate additional revenue for Essex County, but he feels Elite Tennis still has a responsibility to treat season ticket holders fairly.
“Our nonprofits and for-profits are opportunities for the counties to generate more revenue, but that’s supposed to be fair,” Gill said.
In the June 9 email, Elite Tennis pushed back against the idea that they could be regulated by the county.
“One of the other misconceptions we would like to address is the perception that the courts at Brookdale Park Tennis and Pickleball Center are public courts,” Elite Tennis wrote. “These are not public courts. They are county courts served by Essex County. We were awarded the bid after going through a rigorous tendering and evaluation process.”
Gill offered a different perspective than Elite Tennis. He said elite tennis should put the demands of the public first.
“The primary responsibility is to be responsive to the public,” Gill said. “The fact that you might have a unit that’s compensated doesn’t mean there’s any less of an obligation to the public.”
Gill said the county administration was the direct authority, but that he believed the county should be able to work out a solution on court scheduling.
“I will have to approach the county administration about what those options are,” Gill said. “My hope would be, but we have this level of outreach from the community that we can come together to find out and identify what the problem is and see that we’ve found solutions to solve it. Nothing must bind us to the point that we cannot come up with sensible and practical solutions to issues that our constituents present to us.”
—Hank Greenberg/Montclair Local