Pickleball Will Soon Swallow Central Park Whole

By Clio Chang, a Curbed writer who covers everything New York City

Illustration: CityPickle

One of the biggest gripes among New York City pickleballers is the lack of space in which to pickleball. The sport took off during the pandemic, and local enthusiasts have found themselves tussling for real estate with tennis players and children. “Right now, the way many people play is they bring their own nets to scraps of pavement around the city,” Erica Desai, a founder of the company CityPickle, told the New York Times. But the pickle community will no longer be so sad: Central Park’s Wollman Rink will soon be home to 14 pickleball courts.

CityPickle will run the courts from April to October and charge $80 per hour for off-peak times and $120 for peak hours. Last summer, the ice-skating rink was transformed into a roller disco. But now roller disco is dead and pickleball, with its weird little paddles, will rule the park — at least for this summer.