Seattle’s pickleball crowd is not quietly letting this one slide. Players and supporters have been organizing after Seattle Parks rolled out a draft plan that would end many dual-striped tennis and pickleball courts and lock in sites for only one sport. Critics say the move could sharply cut local pickleball access and rearrange where people can play across the city.
As reported by West Seattle Blog, the Seattle Metro Pickleball Association has launched an online petition asking the city to pause any pickleball court removals. SMPA’s petition warns the draft would "plan to eliminate 36 outdoor courts" across seven locations, including four lighted courts at Alki and four at High Point, and says some of the changes could start as early as June 2026. Supporters argue the cuts would fall hardest on older players and neighborhoods that depend on nearby, free courts.
What Seattle Parks Is Proposing
Seattle Parks released its draft "Outdoor Racquet Sports Strategy" on April 6. The plan outlines a two-phase process that would end dual use and assign specific courts to either tennis or pickleball, according to the city's draft strategy. The department’s document notes that the system had 92 pickleball courts as of 2026, only five of them dedicated pickleball courts, and cautions that "it is recognized that this approach will immediately result in a loss in the total number of available pickleball courts." Table 1 in the strategy designates Alki Playground as a tennis site and Delridge Playfield as a pickleball site, signaling which West Seattle courts would be affected in Phase I.
Petition, Meetings and Next Steps
Seattle Parks is currently gathering feedback. An online survey opened April 16 and is set to run through May 11, and the Board of Parks and Recreation Commissioners is scheduled to review the draft at a 6 p.m. briefing on April 23 that will include a public-comment period, according to the city's engagement hub. The engagement page also lists several in-person meetings in early May where the department plans to present the strategy and collect responses that will be compiled into an FAQ. The Alki Community Council has set time on its April 16 agenda to talk about the draft, and local players say they may show up to speak at both neighborhood and city hearings, per West Seattle Blog.
Why Players Say This Matters
The petition argues that removing courts would mean "longer travel times, increased crowds on the remaining courts, longer wait times (and less play time)," and that losing nearby courts will most affect older adults and people who do not have cars. SMPA and some players note that building replacement courts takes land and money and can drag on for years. The draft strategy itself says the department plans to study expansion options in 2027 for sites near Alki, Delridge and other areas. That gap between reassigning existing courts and constructing new ones is a key reason advocates are asking the city to hold off on removals while public engagement plays out.
How To Weigh In
Seattle Parks' online engagement hub includes the full draft strategy, the public survey and contact information for questions, and it says responses will be pulled together and used to refine the plan before it is put in place. The Board briefing with public comment is set for April 23 at 6 p.m., and the engagement page details how to participate and how feedback will be handled. SMPA's petition remains live online, and neighborhood groups in West Seattle are encouraging residents to attend this month’s meetings.
The coming weeks will show whether public comment and the petition change the department's schedule or its Phase I designations. For now, both parks planners and players say they are looking for a long-term fix that balances court quality, neighborhood access and the hard limits of funding and space in Seattle’s parks system.
