Pickleball and tennis courts at two parks in the McLean area might be retired in the future.
The Fairfax County Park Authority is considering relocating two shared-use courts at Linway Terrace Park (6246 Linway Terrace) in McLean. Westgate Park (7508 Magarity Road) in Tysons also has two courts — one dedicated to tennis and one for both tennis and pickleball — slated for removal.
No immediate changes are planned at either park “at this time,” FCPA spokesperson Benjamin Boxer told FFXnow last month, but the prospect of losing the courts has nonetheless inspired some anxiety among local pickleball and tennis players.
A pickleball club that plays at Westgate started an online petition calling on the park authority to reconsider its plan for the park and hold off on any changes “until a proper neighborhood notification and outreach process is conducted, and mutually acceptable alternatives are in place.”
Though the petition only has 334 signatures, as of press time, organizer Susan Zehnder said in an email to FFXnow that pickleball has been “exploding” in popularity in the area, with a club at McLean High School boasting over 300 members.
Zehnder’s group has 41 players on its email list, per the petition. They began meeting at Westgate “years ago” and bonded with pickleball and pot luck dinners as “a welcome diversion” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Losing the Linway courts and the Westgate courts would mean all local pickleball players would be left competing for limited courts at Lewinsville and McLean Central Parks,” the Friends of Westgate Park Pickleball said in its petition.
In a Tysons Park System Concept Plan approved in October 2014, the park authority proposed eventually replacing the Westgate courts with a rectangular field that could include diamond overlays to provide additional baseball facilities.
With pickleball gaining popularity in the decade since the concept plan was approved, replacing the courts no longer makes sense, the Westgate pickleball club argued in its petition.
Extrapolating from national trends, the FCPA estimated in its 2021 Pickleball Study that the county has 12,881 pickleball players and 83,141 tennis players.
According to the system concept plan, a revision of Westgate Park’s master plan “with public design input” would need to be completed before “any significant changes” are made. That remains the case, Boxer says.
“This plan would need to be revisited before deciding upon additional investment and change in the existing courts,” he told FFXnow by email.
There appears to be a stronger case for moving the courts at Linway Terrace Park, where they fall within 200 feet of existing residences, according to an FCPA analysis.
In response to noise concerns, park authority staff introduced new guidance for determining where pickleball courts should be located, including a prohibition on courts within 200 feet of a residential building.
“In such cases, our guidelines point to relocation/restriping of these facilities,” Boxer said. “We are beginning to evaluate potential solutions but there is no imminent action planned at [Linway Terrace Park] at this time.”
The new criteria caused a stir in Annandale when they prompted the elimination of pickleball courts at Kendale Woods Park this summer. Some pickleball players protested the closure on June 25 with a sit-in, and a court injunction was filed in an attempt to stop the courts from being re-lined, Annandale Today reported at the time.
The park authority is planning to add pickleball courts at two parks in Annandale, according to Boxer. Work is progressing on a design concept for two dedicated courts at Mason District Park (6621 Columbia Pike), and as of July, the FCPA anticipated completing renovations at Wakefield Park (8100 Braddock Road) next spring.
The FCPA has expanded its pickleball capacity from 28 courts in 2021 to 88 courts by 2024, staff told the board at its Oct. 23 meeting. However, the agency has said it also has a need for other recreational and athletic facilities, such as futsal courts.
“The FCPA remains committed to providing opportunities for pickleball play throughout the county in an equitable manner,” Boxer said. “It is a balancing act.”
