BROKEN BOW, Neb.— Two new pickleball courts have been placed at Melham Park by the City of Broken Bow and are now waiting for players of all levels to enjoy friendly or fiery competition.
Broken Bow City Administrator Dave Schmidt told KCNI/KBBN that the process of making pickleball available to citizens started one or two years ago.
“We initially started talking about renovating one or two of the tennis court stalls and making pickleball out of that or making it so that you could do tennis or pickleball,” said Schmidt. “The more we got to looking at it, the more we realized the tennis courts were going to need some updating and repairs and to really make pickleball done right and with the cost involved with that we decided ‘You know what? Let’s just give it a dedicated space’.”
The courts were constructed to be low maintenance and durable, featuring a tall chain link fence with an entrance on both ends surrounding it. Nets can be moved for the off season, and only portions of the court will need re-painted as needed going forward as much of the court’s concrete was stained instead of painted. Recent rains are helping grass come up around the new courts, which sit next to the sand volleyball courts on top of the hill.
Described by Schmidt as Broken Bow’s ‘premier park’, Melham Park’s frisbee golf course is currently in the middle of a renovation, the Lions Club picnic shelter was renovated and reinstalled recently, and the StoryWalk from the Broken Bow Library is entertaining those using the walking trail in its first season of use. Paired with the pool, a playground, sand volleyball courts, the pond and soccer and baseball/softball fields, Melham Park is busy often.
The city has looked at exploring the possibility of making Melham Park the new home of tennis courts in the future as well.
Schmidt said the city continues to be excited about seeing the park be a frequented destination.
“That’s exactly what we want to see, people up here all week long. Using the walking trail, using pickleball, sand volleyball courts. And today our pool is open for the first day this year, so we’ve got a lot of activity up here,” said Schmidt in an interview Monday.
View a short video showing clips of the new pickleball courts below:
