Tucker council to consider revised pickleball contract at May 12 meeting
Despite assurances that the construction of a controversial pickleball facility was put on hold until 2027, the Tucker City Council will vote on a contract for a downsized version of the proposal at its May 12 meeting.
According to a staff memo, the $3 million plan , which would be built on a multi-purpose field at the Tucker Recreation Center, calls for six pickleball courts, additional parking, and other amenities. It recommends the contract be awarded to Complete Site, LLC, which was the low bidder when the council was considering the construction last year.
“Based on feedback from the community meeting held on November 7, 2024 meeting, and staff and officials, we expanded the recreational opportunities to include tennis and basketball as well as a small area that may include sand volleyball and bocce courts,” a staff memo about the plan said.
The revised plan, according to the memo, will add “sound mitigation measures (Acoustiblok screening on each court) to the project to help further combat possible noise effects.”
Opponents to the courts likened the revised plan to putting “lipstick on a pig.”
“The memorandum suggests that this is a new and improved complex, with the addition of one basketball court, one tennis court, a sand volleyball court and two bocce ball courts, while keeping only six pickleball courts,” according to a Facebook post by TRC -Pickleball – Tucker, Ga.
“Don’t be taken in by this blatant and ridiculous sleight of hand,” the post continued. “There is NO fundamental change to the design, as the basketball and tennis courts are merely lipstick on a pig. Each can and will be converted to full-time pickleball after the installation is complete.”
Rebecca Gross, an outspoken critic of the proposal, said the city is trying to disguise its intention to line each court for pickleball play.
They are trying to make it look like they are compromising with us by saying there will be a basketball court, a tennis court, etc. Please know that they fully intend to line off everything for pickleball as well,” Gross said in a message sent to Rough Draft Atlanta. “As it will be first-come, first-serve, the pickleball players will monopolize the courts and we will still have 12 courts.”
Neighbors on nearby Morgan Road have been opposed to the complex’s construction, complaining that the noise generated by the repetitive sound of the paddles hitting the balls and increased traffic would disrupt their quality of life.
At its April 14 meeting, The Tucker City Council heard that proposed projects for 2026 would not include $1.2 million for the controversial pickleball complex.
While presenting the city’s preliminary list of 2026 capital projects, Tucker City Manager John McHenry said the city has “not made a decision” surrounding a proposed pickleball and deferred $1.2 million previously discussed for the complex in the 2026 budget to 2027.
Gross said this latest turn of events had been “extremely stressful – [it] feels like David fighting Goliath.”
The noise pollution impact on Morgan Road remains. The sound blankets have been proven ineffective in lessening the impact on neighboring residential properties,” she said. “The excessive cost remains. This cost cannot be justified given the financial priorities of the city in the current political environment.”
A group called Voices for Balance has created a website that details the history of the project and the rationale behind their opposition to it. It also includes links to city documents and national news stories about the negative effects of pickleball complexes on nearby residents.
The city’s agenda item and supporting documents can be found here.
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