BOARDMAN, Ore.-The Boardman City Council approved a lease agreement between the City and the Boardman Community Development Association (BCDA) for the construction of pickleball courts at its regular meeting on November 4.
“The ground lease enables the BCDA to invest in and operate pickleball courts that serve residents, attract visitors, and strengthen recreational opportunities in Boardman,” said City Manager Brandon Hammond.
The project calls for eight regulation pickleball courts designed for recreational play and suitable for competitive play or hosting tournaments to be built on 1.3 acres near Columbia and Main in Boardman.
“This 50-year lease is a great opportunity for some property right next to the high school,” Hammond told the Council in presenting the proposed lease for their approval. “This is not necessarily a money-making project; it’s about bringing people to the area for recreation.”
The estimated cost of the pickleball court project is $550,000, and includes perimeter fencing, benches and seating, ADA accessible pathways, motion-activated LED lighting and other landscaping improvements, according to the Boardman Chamber of Commerce.
Funding for $400,000 of that cost has already been secured, with the Morrow County Unified Recreation District (MCURD) committing $350,000, and Amazon pledging $50,000.
While the majority of the funding for the pickleball court project is in place, the BCDA is still searching for additional funding and in-kind donations to cover the remaining costs, according to Torrie Griggs, Chief Executive Officer of the Boardman Chamber of Commerce.
Final engineering, design and permitting for the pickleball courts is expected to be finished by the end of December and construction is scheduled to start in the Spring.
During the council’s discussion of the ground lease agreement, concern was raised about the location of the proposed pickleball courts and why they were not planned for inside a park instead.
The issues of noise generated at the courts and parking in the area near apartments were also raised.
The Boardman City Council ultimately approved the ground lease agreement by a 6-1 vote.
“I appreciate the difference of opinion,” said Boardman Mayor Paul Keefer after the motion to approve the lease passed. “It’s healthy for our council.”
Boardman’s pickleball courts are expected to be completed and open to the public by late summer 2026.
