City closes pickleball courts at Congress Park

It's the end of the road for pickleball at Congress Park.

Driving the news: City deputy parks and rec manager Scott Gilmore tells Axios Denver the courts will close Monday following complaints from neighbors about noise levels, which testing confirmed violated Denver's noise laws.

• The closure was first reported by 9News. The news station said sound levels from pickleball play passed 70 decibels in some areas; city law allows for 55 decibels.

Between the lines: Gilmore said 14 of the 18 homes on the street next to the courts had issues with the noise.

• “[This]is just not acceptable and not something we can continue moving forward with,” Gilmore tells Esteban.

The big picture: Pickleball's popularity surged over the past two years, partially due to the pandemic.

• The sport mixes tennis, badminton and ping-pong, and it's fairly easy to play — another major draw.

What they're saying: "We have some boisterous pickleball players… we try [to tell them], 'Hey, remember our neighbors,'" Marc Nelson, chairman of the Congress Park Pickleball Club on Facebook, told 9News.

• The club has more than 1,400 members, and has started circulating a survey to get more data on the sport's popularity.

What's next: The city is looking at putting pickleball courts at Burns Park in Hilltop, and at the Northfield Athletic Complex in Central Park, Gilmore tells us.

• The Congress Park courts will be converted back to tennis courts.

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