The outdoor basketball court at McLean Central Park is getting a new and hopefully improved look.

Contractor ATC began mobilizing this week for a renovation of the facility, a process expected to take about six weeks, depending on the weather, the Fairfax County Park Authority announced yesterday (Thursday).

The project will include a replacement of the court’s two basketball hoops, a new stone dust and asphalt overlay, fresh color coating and line painting, the addition of a 10-foot-tall, vinyl-coated fence on the northern end and the installation of a memorial bench.

The park at 1468 Dolley Madison Blvd will remain open, but construction could affect access to some areas, according to the park authority.

“The work may impact access to some areas of the park, including the parking lot behind the Dolley Madison Library,” the FCPA said. “Visitors are reminded to please follow all signs and placards around the site to safely navigate around construction activities during the project.”

The park authority approved a $20,000 Mastenbrook grant to fund the renovation in December. Supplementing nearly $45,177 in community donations, the grant was requested by friends and neighbors of Thomas Mulquin, a McLean resident and youth basketball coach who died from pancreatic cancer in May 2023.

The project’s total budget is just under $65,177, according to the FCPA.

McLean Central Park’s basketball court will be renovated concurrently with upgrades to the playground, tot lot and walkways that got underway in early March. That project, which will also add an amphitheater, is on track to finish by the end of this year, a park authority spokesperson says.

(Updated at 8:32 a.m., March 5) Infrastructure damaged by a storm at the Glade Tennis Courts in Reston is set for repairs that are expected to wrap up in the fall or spring.

In an update released Friday (March 1), Reston Association Capital Projects Director Chris Schumaker said RA plans to complete a full-court renovation, including new fences and LED court lighting, for the facility.

RA also plans to repair a damaged underground irrigation system that hydrates the clay courts, Schumaker said. The system was damaged by a storm in 2018.

The courts at 11550 Glade Drive will remain closed for the duration of the renovation period. Schumaker estimated reopening in the fall or early next spring.

Meanwhile, renovations at the North Hills pavilion (1400 N Village Road) are set to wrap up in mid-April. They include accessibility improvements, new parking areas, a pathway linking the parking lot and the pavilion, new grill stations and park furniture.

RA also plans to make the parking lot ADA compliant and provide an accessible pathway to link the parking lot to the pavilion.

Professional pickleball players, local officials and community members are expected to turn out in abundance for the upcoming grand opening of Down the Line Sports Center in Fairfax City.

After a soft opening in early February, the indoor pickleball facility at Courthouse Plaza (10390 Willard Way) will officially introduce itself to the city tomorrow (Thursday). The event will kick off at 5 p.m. with a ribbon-cutting, followed by a meet-and-greet with six pro athletes visiting from around the country.

Those players — Rafa Hewett, Connor Garnett, Dylan Frazier, Pablo Tellez, Lea Jansen and Etta Wright — have also been enlisted for an evening of exhibition games that will start at 7 p.m. The $50 tickets for the exhibition include food and drinks at Chubby Squirrel Brewing Company, which is next door to Down the Line.

As of this morning (Wednesday), fewer than 20 tickets were left, according to Down the Line owner Jenni Bae.

“We’re really excited about our grand opening tomorrow,” Bae told FFXnow. “…Having six Major League Pickleball players here at one time to do an exhibition is a really big deal and something really special that we wanted to bring to the community, so we’re hoping that they enjoy it, and these are the kinds of things that…we want to bring to this area moving forward.”

Located in a former CVS, Down the Line Fairfax features three full-sized pickleball courts, one half-sized court and a short practice court, along with a players’ lounge and mini pro shop. Each of the full courts has a scoreboard that can be updated live, and courtside TVs will soon allow players to watch instant replays.

Bae says the soft opening has gone “really well,” describing the center’s members as already feeling like family.

Down the Line’s memberships cost $45 per month and come with discounts on private court and open play fees, a two-week window for booking private courts in advance and other perks.

“We’ve already built a community here. People have been really welcoming and excited to have this extra space as an option to play pickleball, so we felt very welcome,” Bae said.

Support for Down the Line has also come from local leaders. The facility won the Fairfax City Council’s approval in December, and construction costs were partially covered by a Façade and Interior Improvement Grant from Fairfax City Economic Development (FCED).

Being able to form those relationships, including the FCED, in advance resulted in a “very, very smooth” build-out, according to Bae, who’s excited that Mayor Catherine Read, FCED President and CEO Christopher Bruno and other city officials will participate in tomorrow’s ribbon-cutting.

“I am blown away by the unwavering commitment and dedication shown by Jenni Bae and her family to reach this milestone,” Bruno said. “Their vision and determination are commendable, and I am thrilled that Fairfax City will now reap the benefits with the unveiling of this newly activated destination for all of Northern Virginia.”

Down the Line’s arrival in Fairfax is a prelude to plans for a second, even larger facility in Annandale.

Replacing the vacant Kid’s Choice Sports Center at 4311 Ravensworth Road, the 50,000-square-foot center will feature 18 full-sized indoor courts, six golf simulators, a sports bar with food and drinks, and a pickleball and golf shop.

Bae’s team hopes to open the Annandale location around the end of 2024 or early 2025. Members of the Fairfax center will get priority access to a membership in Annandale, along with other benefits, though the details are still being worked out.

Bae says her goal is to ensure all members and customers have a “high-quality experience” at Down the Line, whether they visit the Fairfax center or the future one in Annandale.

“We’re excited to see more people come in, experience our center and the different things we have to offer,” she said. “…Everyone who comes in here, the first thing they notice is the atmosphere and the vibe here is very welcoming, makes you feel very at ease and at home, and that’s exactly what I wanted to provide for the people that come in here.”

The Fairfax County Park Authority is still scouting for its next sports tourism project.

After opening Patriot Park North, a $28 million baseball and softball facility, near George Mason University last spring, the park authority put out a call in June for potential private partners on a new, multi-sport tournament complex that it hopes could benefit both residents and visitors.

However, the park authority announced on Feb. 15 that the four development pitches it received were all ruled out for further exploration at this time due to a lack of funding or the proposed site being deemed unsuitable.

“[The] Fairfax County Park Authority Board and stakeholders reviewed the submissions and found them not viable,” an FCPA spokesperson said. “…The [entities] submitting the proposal[s] did not have the funding for the project or the locations proposed were in established parks and would impact existing park amenities including golf courses, existing fields, garden plots or areas with historical significance.”

The submitted proposals haven’t been made public, but in its request for interest (RFI) issued in June, the county suggested Mountain Road and Halifax parks in Centreville, Rock Hill Park in Chantilly, and Patriot Park East near George Mason’s Fairfax campus as possible sites.

Those four sites are all undeveloped parcels owned by the park authority, which has identified them in approved master plans as potential future athletic fields. The RFI also gave respondents the option of identifying other locations that could host a multi-sport tournament complex.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors authorized a Sports Tourism Task Force in 2017 that was charged with studying how the county could “take advantage of this market in order to diversify its tax base” and how any resulting revenue could be used to support resident-focused facilities.

In a report released on Aug. 31, 2020, the task force cited outdoor field complexes as the county’s biggest need and the facility with the greatest economic potential. Other recommended priorities included an indoor hardcourt, an indoor track facility, an ice complex and a natatorium with a pool for swimming and diving competitions.

The study, which was conducted by a consulting firm and supported by the FCPA, identified 17 sites that could host at least one of the recommended facilities, though the vetting process drew criticism from some county supervisors for not considering equity or environmental impacts.

The task force estimated that an outdoor rectangular field complex at Mountain Road could generate over $61.7 million of economic output, including nearly $4.5 million in county tax revenue. An indoor court and track complex at Baron Cameron Park in Reston could bring in $72.6 million, though it would have higher construction costs.

Designed, built and operated by the park authority, Patriot Park North became the county’s first official sports tourism project, featuring four full-size baseball diamonds and two smaller diamonds.

Though none of the submissions for a follow-up gained traction so far, the park authority says it’s still open to new ideas. Unsolicited proposals can be submitted to the county through its Public-Private Educational Facilities and Infrastructures Act (PPEA) process.

“With Requests for Interest, if or when a project becomes viable, additional input will be sought through the Park Authority’s outreach processes,” the FCPA said.

Screenshot via Fairfax County Park Authority/YouTube

(Updated at 10:30 a.m. on 2/6/2024) After more than a year of impassioned and often acrimonious public testimony, Reston Association will drop plans for pickleball courts as part of the renovation of Barton Hill’s tennis courts.

At a meeting on Jan. 25, the RA Board of Directors voted to remove pickleball courts from the scope of the renovation, which had inspired passionate testimony from both pickleball lovers and neighboring residents concerned about safety, security, parking and the noise associated with the burgeoning sport.

Board director Jennifer Jushchuk, who proposed removing pickleball from the renovation, said she was impressed by the level of public engagement on the proposal.

“I feel like we’ve pitted members against members, and I don’t think that was ever the intention of the board that approved it,” she said, adding that she hopes RA can determine the scope of pickleball needs in the community.

“I just don’t think we got there with Barton Hill,” Jushchuk said.

Most board members said they were concerned about the disproportionate impact of pickleball on the surrounding community.

“I have to be sympathetic to the needs of the people who actually live in the community,” said director Travis Johnson.

Some of that debate continued at the Jan. 25 board meeting.

Residents like Laura David, who lives on Harper Square Court, pressed the board to look for more appropriate places for pickleball that wouldn’t disturb neighboring communities with noise.

“Let’s think outside of the original box we all had, which was to look at Barton Hill,” David said.

Others like Hayes McCarty, a Reston resident for more than 50 years, said RA’s board should take into account noise studies it commissioned that found average noise levels created by pickleball fall below limits enforced by Fairfax County’s noise ordinance.

“The association paid a lot of money for these studies. These people are experts, and I think we have to listen to what they have to say,” McCarty said.

As the plan moved through approval process, RA scaled back plans for pickleball at the facility, which currently consists of four unlit tennis courts built in 1985 at 1901 Barton Hill Road.

Last September, RA reduced its plan for the facility from six to four dedicated pickleball courts and two dedicated tennis courts, removing blended lines that would have allowed both tennis and pickleball uses. Now, all of the courts will be for tennis.

Some board members were dismayed with how the decision was rolled out.

Board director Margaret Perry said she wants RA to brainstorm alternatives for other pickleball locations before voting against its inclusion in Barton Hill. Her motion to delay the vote to the board’s March meeting did not gain traction, and she ultimately voted against removing pickleball from the project.

(Correction: This story initially said Margaret Perry voted for removing pickleball.)

Board president John Farrell said he was particularly concerned with how some board members justified nixing pickleball, noting that neighboring residents often have concerns about the addition of any new facility or program to the community.

“No way in hell am I going to give the neighbors a veto over serving the other 63,000 people [in Reston] and I’m disturbed that I heard some of my colleagues suggest that that’s the fundamental analysis,” Farrell said. “I hope that’s not the case.”

Construction is underway to convert a warehouse in Tysons into an indoor pickleball facility.

The Pickleball Club of Tysons is now accepting membership reservations on its website after receiving the necessary approvals from Fairfax County to begin work at 8520 Tyco Road last week, according to co-owner Alesya Semukha-Greenberg.

With construction expected to finish this spring, the business is currently aiming for an April 1 grand opening.

“I’m most looking forward to [the club] being full all the time and getting the right person to run it and making everyone happy,” Pickleball Club of Tysons co-founder and CEO Marc Greenberg told FFXnow.

Located in an industrial park just southeast of the Route 7 and Dulles Access Road interchange, the recreational facility will feature six dedicated pickleball courts available for lessons, open play, competitive leagues and other events.

Like many other players, Greenberg developed an enthusiasm for pickleball during the COVID-19 pandemic, which saw a surge of interest in the half-century-old sport. He was introduced to the racket-based pasttime about a year and a half ago by fellow Pickleball Club of Tysons founder and chief operating officer Tarlika Amin, who raised the idea of opening her own club to address a lack of indoor courts in the area.

“There really is nowhere to play during the winter time,” Greenberg said. “In fact, the only people sort of creating courts are the counties and the country clubs, so those are two opposite ends of the spectrum. The county’s are public courts, and they’re good, but they’re outdoors and there’s a lot of noise issues, and the country clubs are very expensive and they take away from tennis courts. So, there are very few middle market clubs and that’s where I thought we could make a difference.”

As a real estate agent who lives in McLean, Greenberg agreed to help identify possible locations, and he immediately focused in on Tysons, though he ultimately looked across Northern Virginia, particularly inside the Capital Beltway (I-495).

“Tysons was my number-one choice,” he said. “The odds weren’t great, but then I found this space and the size was right, and most importantly, the column spacing was right so that we could put the courts in.”

The space presented some challenges. The club needed to get a special permit from the county to allow the pickleball courts, and since the warehouse only had heating, not air-conditioning, new HVAC units have to be installed — the project’s biggest expense.

Still, the industrial setting has benefits as well, saving the facility from the concerns about noise that have turned many residential neighborhoods against outdoor pickleball courts.

“There won’t be a noise issue on the outside because it’s 6-inch cinder block on the outside of the warehouse,” Greenberg said, acknowledging that indoor noise levels might still be a challenge.

While the Fairfax County Park Authority continues to add outdoor courts, the Pickleball Club of Tysons will eventually have some company in meeting the demand for indoor facilities. The new business Down the Line Sports Center will open two locations this year: a 10,000-square-foot facility in Fairfax City and a 50,000-square-foot, 18-court complex in Annandale.

Greenberg says it’s “great” to see that other facilities are in the works, since he believes “the demand is there.” The Pickleball Club of Tysons team hopes to expand to other locations in the future, but right now, they’re focused on making sure the Tyco Road one works.

Finding the right site is the biggest challenge to building indoor pickleball courts, according to Greenberg.

“You have the appropriate column spacing and you have the appropriate parking and the ceiling height,” he said. “So, you know, I think you can have a dozen of these in Fairfax County, but the land and the real estate is really not conducive to it, so it’s hard to do.”

Screenshot via Pickleball Club of Tysons/YouTube

Reston Association’s Board of Directors deferred a decision last week on how to handle the planned addition of pickleball at Barton Hill’s tennis courts to Jan. 25.

The decision on Thursday (Dec. 14) comes as the organization grapples with community concerns about noise from the new courts and enthusiasm from pickleball players seeking more locations to play the burgeoning sport.

The association is choosing between two designs for the project: six dedicated pickleball courts with four courts that have blended lines on the existing tennis courts at 1901 Barton Hill Road or four dedicated pickleball courts with no blended lines on the existing courts.

RA plans to install Acoustifence — noise blocking material — to manage sound in the area, adding $75,000 to the initial price tag of $770,000.

With the assistance of consultant Kimley-Horn, RA completed two sound studies in July and November. The latest study found that noise from pickleball play is below Fairfax County’s noise ordinance for continuous sound — sound that is constant throughout observation — and 100 decibels for impulse sound — single or multiple sounds characterized by a sudden rise in noise.

“I’m not going to sit here and tell any neighbor that what they’re hearing is not valid or isn’t reality,” Aaron Heustess, a senior civil engineer with Kimley-Horn, said. “All I can do is point back to the data, which says if you look at the meter and you watch what’s happening, it’s not impacting the noise.”

According to Heustess, most of the studied sound was dominated by traffic noise.

Board director Laurie Dodd noted that the county’s noise ordinance is designed more for average noise levels, rather than impulse noise levels.

Heustess also pointed out that the sound produced from a pickleball whacking a racket is significantly shorter than other sounds and has “low energy from an overall average standpoint.”

“The impulsive nature of pickleball noise does not drive the average noise level for that particular use,” he said.

He also noted that the county’s noise ordinance has an exception for recreational uses between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

The bottom line, Heustess concurred with director Irwin Flashman, was to “keep it as far away from people as you possibly can.”

Meanwhile, RA’s community survey found that 15% of its members played pickleball within the last year, and 12% of members would’ve played in the last month but were limited by the availability of courts. Others said they were concerned about overcrowded courts and limited hours.

If approved, scheduling for the Barton Hill pickleball courts and the soccer field would be staggered to address concerns about parking needs. There are currently 28 existing parking spots at the courts, including ones across the road at the soccer field.

In a separate matter, RA worked with community members to draft a memo asking the Virginia Department of Transportation to consider installing a crosswalk on Barton Hill Road.

Further engineering and study is necessary before a permit application is submitted.

(Updated at 11:45 a.m.) Pickleball devotees will soon have new places to play in the Fairfax area.

The Fairfax City Council voted last night (Tuesday) to grant a special use permit to Down the Line Sports Center, which will build an indoor pickleball facility to replace the vacated CVS in Courthouse Plaza (10390 Willard Way).

The 10,000-square-foot former pharmacy will be transformed into a dedicated pickleball facility with three full-sized courts and two half-sized courts, according to the application submitted by Down the Line owner Jenni Bae.

Though an opening date hasn’t been set yet, Down the Line is already preparing to extend its reach with a second, larger facility in Annandale that’s also anticipated to launch next year.

“This is an exciting new chapter for Down the Line Sports Center, and we are thrilled to bring our first location to the heart of Old Town,” Bae said. “Our vision is to create a space where patrons of all ages can come together, play, and connect. We’re grateful for the support of the City Council, Fairfax City Economic Development, and the Façade and Interior Improvement Grant program for making this dream a reality.”

Provided by Fairfax City Economic Development (FCED), the grant program reimburses 50% or up to $20,000 of the costs for businesses to get established or expand in the city.

A tennis player who got into pickleball during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bae told FFXnow that the original plan was to open an indoor pickleball facility in Annandale. But then, she connected with the FCED and saw an opportunity to open a smaller center more quickly.

“We recognized it as basically a beneficial opportunity for both Fairfax City and our business,” she said.

Because the Fairfax City facility will be relatively small, Down the Line hopes to offer social events to the community in lieu of pickleball tournaments and leagues, which require at least six courts, according to the application.

The company said it’s open to partnering with the Old Town Fairfax Business Association and the Central Fairfax Chamber of Commerce on future events, while also participating in festivals and other outdoor city events.

In a press release, the FCED lauded the facility as “a significant leap towards invigorating Old Town Fairfax and fostering a sense of community.” Fairfax City has six pickleball courts at Green Acres Center (4401 Sideburn Road), including one that’s indoors, and four at Van Dyck Park (3720 Blenheim Blvd), but this is the city’s first dedicated, indoor pickleball complex.

Fairfax City Mayor Catherine Read credited local pickleball players at Green Acres Center and former city council member Janice Miller with advocating for more playing options in the city to support the growing — and sometimes polarizing — sport.

“We have delivered a solution that works no matter the weather,” Read said. “That value is made greater by the fact many residents can walk there or take the free CUE bus.”

According to Bae, Down the Line hopes to open the Fairfax facility this winter, followed in the second half of 2024 by the Annandale facility.

Located at 4311 Ravensworth Road, the 50,000-square-foot Annandale center will feature 18 permanent indoor courts, seven golf simulators and a sports bar. The company envisions it as a future destination for both amateur and professional players in the D.C. region and beyond.

“Our goal is to bring in huge events that we’ve never been able to have in this area before because no one has ever been able to provide the indoor space that we can provide,” Bae said. “…We will become a destination center where people will fly in from other states to play in our tournaments…They’re going to bring more business to the restaurants, to the hotels and to everything in the Annandale area because of our center.”

Rendering via Down the Line Sports Center

The tennis court renovations at Bready Park (814 Ferndale Avenue) in Herndon are officially complete.

The renovation project includes the addition of four pickleball courts — an effort to meet growing demand for the sport in the area.

Other updates include new fencing, the application of a new surface called ProBounce.

The park now has four pickleball courts and five tennis courts, two of which are contained in the park’s temporary indoor tennis facility.

“We are pleased to publicly open the newly renovated Bready Park Tennis Courts, featuring the innovative ProBounce® surface which will add many years of use to the courts and enhance player comfort with the cushioned surfacing for both tennis and pickleball enthusiasts,” Herndon Parks and Recreation Director Cindy Roeder said in a press release. “The addition of pickleball courts is a testament to our commitment to meeting the diverse recreational needs of our community.”

A maximum of one reservation per day is allowed per individual. Each reservation is $10 per hour.

Scheduled sessions for pickleball players are available on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 a.m. to noon, Tuesdays and Thursdays from noon to 2 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Courts are available from sunrise to 10 p.m. daily, allowing both reservations and drop-in play.

Reservations can be made online or by calling the town’s parks and recreation department at 703-435-6868.

The project kicked off in July after a design phase was completed in August of 2022.

Reston Association is approaching a crossroads in its project to convert tennis courts at Barton Hill into pickleball courts.

The organization is now considering two potential designs for the facility at 1901 Barton Hill Road. One would replace two of the four existing tennis courts with 10 pickleball courts, including six dedicated courts and four with “blended lines” that could be shared with tennis players. The other would have four pickleball courts, all of them dedicated to the trendy sport.

Presented at a community meeting on Sept. 6, the second option was developed in response to noise concerns raised by community members in March, RA staff said.

However, Barton Hill residents remain skeptical of even the scaled-down proposal, according to a memo sent last week to RA and the Virginia Department of Transportation.

In addition to calling for advanced sound testing, residents say the courts lack “sufficient parking to accommodate the expected high demand” for pickleball. There are currently nine parking spaces for the tennis courts, including one ADA space, falling short of Fairfax County’s new two-spaces-per-court minimum requirement.

There are an additional 19 spaces on site to support the nearby soccer field, according to Bill Rountree, who wrote the letter as the self-identified “Barton Hill community spokesman.”

“It is our position that these are dedicated to soccer and may not be used to comply with County regulations,” Rountree wrote. “RA has no authority to declare such in the absence of a County determination.”

A pickleball study that the Fairfax County Park Authority finalized in December 2021 went even further with its parking guidelines, recommending that one space be provided per player.

According to the letter, residents estimate that the proposed courts could draw as many as 40 players at a time, based on the reported usage of the four pickleball courts at Autumnwood, which currently has the only dedicated pickleball facilities in Reston.

“In light of this, we strongly urge RA to consider implementing an appointment reservation system to manage the parking situation effectively,” Rountree said.

A requested crosswalk on Barton Hill Road at Sunrise Valley Drive could further aggravate the situation, the letter said, citing a county prohibition on parking within 20 feet of a crosswalk.

On behalf of the community, Rountree expressed overall support for adding a crosswalk, which residents hope will address safety issues at that intersection. RA staff have submitted a request to VDOT asking it to review the proposed crosswalk. Read More