New pickleball courts open at Orem’s Northridge Park
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- A man plays pickleball at Northridge Park on Monday, July 7, 2025, in Orem.
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- Two girls play pickleball at Northridge Park on Monday, July 7, 2025, in Orem.
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- Orem Mayor David Young, middle, cuts the ribbon on new pickleball courts at Northridge Park on Monday, July 7, 2025.
The pickleball craze made its way to another public park in Orem on Monday afternoon.
City officials opened four new pickleball courts at Northridge Park, marking the completion of the second phase of park improvements and offering northeast Orem residents a new place to play the popular sport.
“Here in Orem, we involve a lot of input and feedback from the community,” Public Works Assistant Director Tyler Peay said. “Pickleball has been a big request for the last five years. All we ever hear about in a new park project is more pickleball, more pickleball.”
Utilizing Orem’s Cultural Arts and Recreation Enrichment funds, the two-year project first involved construction of a new playground. The second phase came in direct response to resident feedback and required replacing one of the two tennis courts in the park.
“Because of the hype and the interest in pickleball, we decided to demolish one (tennis court) and convert it into four pickleball courts so there was more variety, and we were able to serve both sides of the community,” Peay said.
Building the courts offered some engineering challenges, though, because there was previously a slope in between the two tennis courts.
As a solution, Orem built a retaining wall between the pickleball and tennis courts.
“That was a little bit of a hurdle and a challenge for us to beautify this and make the layout work,” Peay said. “So it took more time and engineering to get that ready to go.”
The court’s opening was celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a speech from Mayor David Young. Young credited the park department for its efforts in recently opening a new basketball court at Windsor Park and said the pickleball courts were another exciting addition.
“These new courts at Northridge Park will be places where people of all ages can connect and stay active together,” Young said. “Pickleball in particular is a sport that unites generations, and we look forward to seeing kids, parents, grandparents and neighbors all sharing the court and making memories.”
