NATCHEZ, Miss. – Few issues have drawn such a large crowd to the Natchez Council Chambers like the pickleball-versus-tennis furor last week at a public hearing held by the mayor and city aldermen.
The hearing was called by Mayor Dan Gibson after aldermen voted 4-2 last month against his endorsed plan to convert three Duncan Park tennis courts into 10 pickleball courts.
The gathering displayed the differing, strongly held opinions about whether pickleball should supplant tennis courts at the city park.
“It was a good meeting overall. I know it was frustrating for some. But a lot of good information was shared,” Gibson said.
Some advocates said the Board of Aldermen’s 4-2 vote should be the final decision against the pickleball plan, but Gibson said he’ll continue to pursue a compromise.
“I’m not giving up on a solution that satisfies both sports and further unites Natchez,” the mayor said.
While a seemingly innocuous proposition, the plan sharply divided the aldermen in April along with the crowd that packed their meeting room for the May 18 hearing. It lasted more than 90 minutes and drew at least 18 public commentators.
Alderman Valencia Hall has been the most outspoken board member against the pickleball proposition. She said splitting up three Duncan Park tennis courts into the smaller pickleball courts would be at the expense of a sport that tennis buffs say needs the existing 10 tennis courts for tournaments.
However, Gibson has said the growing popularity of pickleball justifies the need to develop courts exclusively dedicated to this avocation at the city’s main recreational park. Pickleballers currently use Duncan Park tennis courts marked up and netted on a makeshift basis for their smaller playing space.
The Board of Aldermen last month rejected a pickleball plan that also calls for resurfacing Duncan Park tennis courts at a total cost of about $31,000 – with half funded by private dollars. The mayor and board are scheduled to meet Tuesday, but it’s uncertain if the issue will resurface then.
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