Eight new pickleball courts are open for play behind the Yucca Valley Community Center, and town officials marked the occasion with a Saturday celebration that drew players, including a 2-year-old named Nikodem Kusmieruk who got on the court with his mother, Crystal Kusmieruk.
The grand opening ran from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on October 3rd and included a live broadcast from Z107.7 FM, free clinics, raffles, and food from local vendor JT Desert Drifters, according to the station. Town officials celebrated the eight new courts at the community center, as reported by the Hi Desert Star. The new facility includes lighting, fencing, spectator seating, and a shade structure, per the Hi Desert Star, and the town also resurfaced and upgraded its basketball courts with lighting as part of the same project.
A Year From Groundbreaking to Opening Day
Construction on Phase 1 of the project broke ground in October 2025, with crews expanding parking capacity alongside building the eight courts and upgrading the basketball facilities, Z107.7 FM reports. The complex opened on October 3, 2026, following a groundbreaking in October 2025. The added parking was meant to accommodate residents, visitors and future recreational activities, per the station's report.
The Yucca Valley Town Council set an overall project budget of $2.925 million for the Community Center Athletic Facilities expansion, approving a $2.544 million construction contract for Phase 1, according to Citizen Portal. That budget folds in contingencies and funding for future phases that are expected to cover public plazas and restrooms, the outlet notes.
Federal Relief Dollars Became Permanent Infrastructure
The $1.6 million that paid for the eight courts came from federal American Rescue Plan Act money, secured for Yucca Valley by San Bernardino County 3rd District Supervisor Dawn Rowe, the Hi Desert Star reports.
The pickleball courts are one piece of a larger recreational buildout in Yucca Valley that also includes an Aquatic and Recreation Center, Z107.7 FM reported in February 2024. That aquatic center is scheduled to open in late 2026, the station notes.
Access Keys, Fees, and Clinic Schedules
Players looking to use the new courts need a key, which costs $15 and remains valid for three years, according to the Hi Desert Star. Keys are available at the Yucca Valley Community Center office and at Town Hall, both in Yucca Valley.
Coach Bill Shamhart is leading the fall pickleball clinics, offering beginner and intermediate classes on Tuesday mornings and Wednesday nights, plus advanced beginner and intermediate drills on Thursday mornings, per the paper. He is also set to host specialty workshops covering ball and court awareness, serves, topspin, and the unit turn, all open to players of all levels. Adult clinics run $10 to $60, while children's clinics cost $50 to $75. Residents can sign up online at yucca-valley.org or in person at the Park and Recreation office inside the Community Center, which is open 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Thursday. Shamhart can be reached at (760) 401-3030, and the town's recreation department can be reached at (760) 369-7211. The Community Center itself sits on Dumosa Avenue north of Twentynine Palms Highway.
Riding a National Pickleball Boom
Yucca Valley's investment lands amid explosive national growth in the sport. Nationwide pickleball participation hit 24.3 million players in 2025, a 22.8% jump in a single year and a 171.8% surge over three years, according to data reported by Pickletile. The sport has ranked as the fastest-growing in the U.S. for five consecutive years, per the outlet.
WherePickleball reports that players ages 13 to 24 had the highest participation rates among age segments. California leads WherePickleball's directory with 586 mapped court locations, followed by Florida and Illinois. The site cautions that its mapped directory is not a census of all courts.
