NATCHEZ, Miss. – Adams County supervisors were undecided Monday on whether to join Natchez officials in building pickleball courts near the city-county swimming pool at Liberty Park.
The Natchez Board of Aldermen voted last week to pursue this after turning down plans advocated by Mayor Dan Gibson for pickleball courts at Duncan Park.
Alderman Valencia Hall – the most outspoken opponent of having pickleball at the city-owned Duncan Park – asked the Board of Supervisors to consider helping fund an alternative venue at the county-owned Liberty Park. However, the supervisors were noncommittal.
County board President Angela Hutchins said the board would discuss it further later. Supervisor Ricky Gray said he wants to hear Natchez pickleballers’ opinions about whether they’d be OK with relocating their play away from Duncan Park, where they currently hold court on a makeshift basis at its tennis center. However, Supervisor Wes Middleton said Duncan Park is the best place for pickleball.
After heated debate and a public hearing in May, Natchez aldermen voted 4-2 against the popular racket sport being played at Duncan Park’s tennis courts. Hall said the proposed plan to split up three Duncan Park tennis courts into the smaller pickleball courts would be at the expense of tournaments’ need for all existing 10 tennis courts. However, Gibson and others say pickleball’s growing popularity demands having courts dedicated exclusively for it at the city’s main recreational park.
A possible alternative has emerged with Beau Pre Country Club converting some of its tennis courts for pickleball, but Hall said such a venue should be available for the public and not exclusively for private club members. She said state or federal grants could potentially be available to help build the Natchez-Adams County pickleball venue along with local funds and subsidies from national pickleball associations.
Middleton expressed annoyance at Hall for asking supervisors to help construct pickleball courts after she and other aldermen declined in the past to help the county fund softball fields or repair tornado sirens located in the city.
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