New Pickleball Courts Open at West Milwaukee Park

(left to right) Milwaukee County Parks Director Guy Smith, Village of West Milwaukee President John Stalewski, County Executive David Crowley, Sup. Sky Capriolo, Parks Organized Sports Manager Alyssa Krueger. Photo taken Oct. 31, 2024 by Graham Kilmer.

Milwaukee County Parks opened a new pickleball court in West Milwaukee Park Thursday.

Old, dilapidated tennis courts on the southern end of the park were replaced with six new pickleball courts. The nets are up and the courts are free to play for the rest of season, which is quickly coming to close.

For more than a decade the courts have sat empty, without nets and paint flaking away, said Village of West Milwaukee President John Stalewski.

“It took a long time and a bit of work to get us to where we are now,” Stalewski said.

The village board worked with Milwaukee County Parks to find a solution for the courts, which were being used by local residents as a “dog run,” Stalewski said. Former supervisor Peter Burgelis managed to secure $40,000 in the 2023 budget to resurface the courts.

County Executive David Crowley attended the ribbon cutting for the new courts Thursday wearing a Halloween costume pulled from cinema history. The county executive was wearing a yellow jumpsuit that doubled as a Bruce Lee costume from the 1973 film “Enter the Dragon” or, the county executive said, as Bruce Leeroy of the 1985 Kung-Fu comedy “The Last Dragon.” The latter film was directed by Michael Schultz, who made the classic films “Cooley High” and “Car Wash” and who was born and raised in Milwaukee.

West Milwaukee is only the second public park in Milwaukee to have pickleball courts installed. Parks installed the system’s first courts earlier this year at Froemming Park in Franklin. There are still fewer than a dozen outdoor pickleball courts, and even fewer that are public and free to play. Players often make due at tennis courts, where the nets are taller and the court boundaries spread farther.

The new courts ensure the county parks system has “modern, inclusive and popular recreational options,” Crowley said.

Sup. Sky Capriolo now represents the district, and she thanked the various partners that worked together to finish the courts in 2024.

Pickleball has been around for more than 50 years, according to USA Pickleball, the sport’s national governing body, but has exploded in popularity in recent years, becoming the fastest growing sport in the U.S.

The sport is popular in Milwaukee. At both Froemming and West Milwaukee, the new courts had players as soon as they were playable.

In 2025, courts at both locations will be available for reservation. They are otherwise available for free on a first-come-first-served basis.

Tell Parks Where To Add Pickleball

Parks has created an interactive map that allows county residents to tell the department where they would like to see new pickleball courts.

Existing members must be signed in to see the interactive map. Sign in.