Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
SALT LAKE CITY — Maia Lavatai and other members of the Die Hard Pickleballerz love pickleball.
The Glendale-based club travels all over the world to play the fast-growing game and hosts players from other countries. However, Lavatai said the club is often forced to find courts outside of Salt Lake City for its tournaments because there are just not enough in Utah's capital.
"We've been booking all our tournaments outside of Salt Lake City because there's nothing here for us," she said.
That is starting to change, beginning with eight new courts now open at Rosewood Park, 1400 N. 1200 West in Salt Lake City's Rose Park neighborhood.
City leaders and pickleball enthusiasts celebrated the opening of the new courts, which replaced most of the tennis courts that once existed on the northwest corner of the park. Lavatai received the honor of cutting the ribbon on the courts before the Pickleballerz offered lessons to a group of Guadalupe School sixth graders who crossed 1200 West to attend the event.
"We brought something to the community that the community wanted," said Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall.
These new courts may not have existed without a much more pressing need below the courts, though. Salt Lake City Department of Public Utilities began planning on the 1800 North Sewer Realignment Project a decade ago, replacing a vital section of the city's massive sewer pipe system that totals about 679 miles.
The $30 million capital improvement project called for a new 56-inch sewer trunk line that handles waste coming in from the city's downtown, Avenues and portions of Sugar House neighborhoods, as well the University of Utah. Anytime someone flushes a toilet in these parts of town, their waste goes through this line as it heads to the city's water treatment plant.
"It would be an understatement for me to say just how critical this part of the over 600 miles of sewer collection system is," said Laura Briefer, director of Salt Lake City Public Utilities, noting the section of pipe was identified as one in need of repair because of its age.
"Should this part of the sewer system fail, that failure would have a profound effect on our ability to basically flush our toilets and collect sewage," she added.
Work began last fall on the portion of the project impacting Rosewood Park, a portion of the project's second phase.
The line enters Rosewood Park near its east end by I-15. It runs underneath its open space before cutting north near 1200 West, running underneath a portion of where the park's tennis courts were located. However, that meant a portion of the courts would have to be torn up so crews could install the new sewer line.
It just so happens that the project opened up an opportunity for the city to address a growing desire for pickleball courts. Tyler Murdock, deputy director for Salt Lake City Department of Parks and Public Lands, said Lavatai's frustration is an all-too-common story that the city hears from residents and the pickleball community.
So when the Salt Lake City Parks and Public Lands got roped into the project, department officials weren't surprised to hear residents wanted more pickleball courts.
"I think, nationally, there's clearly a strong trend toward the increase of pickleball and a demand for more places to play," he said. "(We're) looking to expand that right now."
They pieced together a plan that converted most of the tennis courts into eight new pickleball courts, while still leaving one tennis court available since that sport is also growing. There are now 22 available courts within the city's park system with the new addition at Rosewood Park, but Murdock told KSL.com that as many as 16 additional courts scattered across the city could be available by the end of 2025.
Lavatai, who once patrolled Rose Park for 20 years as a police officer, is thrilled by the development, gifting Mendenhall a Pickleballerz shirt to match the team. Lavatai and her fellow club members are excited that they may not need to go far to find pickleball courts.
However, she jokes the park might need just one more little addition before it reaches perfection. That's because they'd like to play with their friends and family as much as competitors across the country.
"Maybe a pavilion here, too," she said, drawing a chuckle from her teammates and city leaders. "We want to have our family reunions here, too."
