Albany Commission approves Tift Park pickleball courts, dog park

ALBANY – After years of talk and delay, city pickleball courts could be ready for play in about a year at Tift Park, and the concept at Tift Park now includes a place for pooches to play.

The Albany City Commission approved at its business meeting Tuesday evening funding for the design of the facilities, which will include four pickleball courts, the dog park, restrooms and a parking lot. Commissioners unanimously voted for the contract with Kennesaw-based company WSP in the amount of $131,850.

The city long has sought a location for pickleball courts, and over the past five years or so has looked at a joint project with Dougherty County to develop a tennis/pickleball complex. So far, that project has not made it over the net.

Tennis and pickleball were among the sports that gained popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the social-distancing initiated during the pandemic, people gravitated toward sports that did not require body contact and being in close proximity with others.

That growth continued in 2024, according to USA Pickleball, with 18,455 courts added across the country during that year.

The tennis courts at Tift Park were abandoned about 15 years ago and have sat vacant since that time.

Initially, the city considered resurfacing the tennis courts to provide one tennis court and 12 pickleball courts at the site. However, the cost of $164,000 for what would have been a temporary fix was deemed to be not worth it.

“That would have been throwing bad money after good,” Albany City Manager Terrell Jacobs said during an interview after Tuesday’s meeting. 

“We’re going to get the design, and once we get the design completed, we’re going to be bidding it out (for construction).”

The project described is what Jacobs described as the first phase for Tift Park, with more to come. He estimated the pickleball project could be completed in about a year or less.

Funding for the design of the project will come from special-purpose local-option sales tax dollars.

During the Tuesday meeting, the commission also approved another downtown project, allocating $500,000 for sidewalk and streetscape improvements. 

The area covered will include the Sandy Bottom District, including the area of North Washington Street, where the St. Nicholas Hotel is currently being renovated.

SPLOST funds will be used for the project.

The city has a $5.7 million budget for streetscape improvements downtown, Project Manager Joseph Threadcraft told commissioners.