New pickleball courts open in Lee’s Summit. More fun projects are on the way
The Longview Pickleball Complex is among several Lee’s Summit Parks and Recreation projects that are new or in the works to better serve the growing community.
The complex, which opened in early March, includes 12 lighted pickleball courts, shaded areas and seating for players and spectators. Eight of the courts are first-come, first-serve courts, and four are reservable .
Although pickleball is often thought of as an activity for older adults, you will see a more diverse clientele on the weekends at courts, said Joe Snook, Lee’s Summit Parks and Recreation administrator.
“The next generation of pickleballers are being developed now,” he said. “I think it’s going to continue to flourish.”
With the addition of these 12 courts, Lee’s Summit now offers around 10 indoor pickleball courts and 23 outdoor courts, including the three courts at Lea McKeighan North Park that are converted into the Summit Ice rink during winter.
A Lee’s Summit Parks and Rec study resulted in a centralized approach for the popular activity, Snook added.
“We have a bulk of courts at one location but we also want to do some decentralization by having onesies and two-sies out in the neighborhood parks for our community use,” he said.
The city opened its first pickleball courts in 2016. Since then, the game has experienced dramatic growth . Currently, pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the United States, according to USA Pickleball, with close to 20 million players.
Snook believes there are several reasons for pickleball’s momentum.
“It’s an activity that older people can get into and bring out that fun and/or competitive nature,” he said, with the sport also requiring less running than tennis. “Games are quick. They go to 11 points and you can rotate out.”
In addition, pickleball can be played by a wide range of age groups with multiple generations competing on the court together, making it an ideal sport for families, Snook said.
The Longview Pickleball Complex is at 3801 SW Longview Rd, next to the Longview Community Center.
Red Hawk Park
A few miles southeast of the pickleball complex is Lee’s Summit’s newest park, which opened last fall.
Red Hawk Park, located at 2600 SW Old Port Road, is home to a multi-sport court combining tennis, pickleball and a half basketball court. The approximately 20-acre space also includes a 4,000-square-foot playground and a shelter area. A trail will be added in the future.
Lee’s Summit’s parks department will be developing around 30 acres to the west of Red Hawk. This area will feature practice spaces for youth sports, a dog park, shelters, a trail, disc golf and pickleball courts.
The anticipated completion date for this area is 2029 to 2030.
New fieldhouse scheduled to open in 2027
Construction will be underway during this summer on a large fieldhouse planned for an 8.5-acre site near the US 50 Highway and M-291 interchange, within the new Oldham Village development.
The 98,000-square-foot, $24 million facility is one of the largest Lee’s Summit Parks and Rec construction projects in recent years and will serve as a regional hub for games, tournaments, community events and programs.
“It’s an exciting project,” Snook said. “It will serve our community in multiple ways.
“It will help meet our needs for our youth programming, especially our youth sports, but there’s plenty of capacity to help meet the needs of our community with rental opportunities for youth sports teams and tournaments.”
The fieldhouse will include 10 basketball courts, 14 volleyball courts, court striping for 20 pickleball courts, a concession area and a 250-person meeting room.
The yet-to-be-named fieldhouse, along with Red Hawk Park and the Longview Pickleball Complex, are all funded through the city’s one-quarter-cent sales tax earmarked for parks.
“When we went to voters and they approved the extension of this existing sales tax, one of the commitments was to build a fieldhouse for our community knowing that we had a need for more indoor practice spaces,” Snook shared.
Lee’s Summit’s public girls basketball and girls volleyball programs are near capacity, he added.
“This facility will allow those programs to grow,” Snook said, “but it’s also going to allow us to grow new programs like boys youth volleyball, a newly approved MHSAA (Missouri High Schools Activities Association) sport.”
Bids for the project are scheduled to go out later this spring with construction expected to be underway by August. The anticipated completion date is fall 2027.
More developments
Additional Lee’s Summit projects on the horizon include a new trail connecting Eagle Creek Park to Red Hawk Park and then Red Hawk to Pryor Road.
A popular, hands-on, interactive educational program for young kids will also make its return to Lee’s Summit after being closed for several years.
“We’re going to re-introduce Safety Town back to our community,” Snook said. “That was also a part of that quarter-cent sales tax commitment that we made.”
The new Safety Town will be located at the Longview Community Center and will launch within the next three to four years. The program focuses on traffic, bicycle and life safety skills for young children.
Another new park space that’s in planning stages will be located between the new Longview Pickleball Complex and the Longview Community Center.
Construction is scheduled to begin within the next nine months with amenities such as an extensive playground for 2- to 5-year-olds and another for 5- to 12-year-olds, trails, restrooms and shelter structures.