New pickleball park in western Wisconsin builds on sport’s rising popularity

From sunup to sundown, pickleball players in western Wisconsin are now enjoying a new outdoor court complex.

“The courts are packed by 8 a.m.,” said Bill Bethke, the complex’s project manager.

Bethke, an avid pickleball player, told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” that the 18-court complex opened at the end of July in Lake Hallie, near Eau Claire. 

Rainy weather over the spring season delayed groundbreaking for months.

“We ended up starting late in the blacktop,” he said. “We had a tournament two days after the courts were done.”

He added that the village of Lake Hallie and local donors funded the $300,000 project. Today, the Chippewa Valley Pickleball Club maintains the outdoor pickleball complex.

Since 2020, pickleball has remained the fastest growing sport in America, according to USA Pickleball. 

“It’s a game you can learn very quickly,” he said. 

Bethke spoke with “Wisconsin Today” about park construction happening this fall as well as what the future holds for pickleball in western Wisconsin.

The following has been edited for clarity and brevity. 

Courtney Everett: How did the idea of this 18-court system come about?

Bill Bethke: It started really about a year and a half ago. The Lake Hallie playground was pretty dilapidated and the softball field was barely used. 

The village president of Lake Hallie said, “Yeah, why don’t you turn it into a pickleball court?” So, we came up with the bids. Dave Markquart and myself worked together on getting those first six developed into permanent pickleball courts.  

The president came up to me in June 2023, and he said, “Bill, how many more courts can you fit in this park?” That’s where the story began.

CE: What do you hope to accomplish by building a new pavilion this fall?

BB: Six of the 18 courts are lit. In order to control and generate power, we need a building. That was part of phase two. I reached out to Market and Johnson and they gathered soil samples to break ground. The plan is to build two unisex bathrooms, (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessible bathrooms, a mechanical room, a water fountain and picnic tables. Our goal is to be completed this fall.

CE: You say you’re considering building an indoor pickleball center in the Chippewa Valley. What can you tell us about that?  

BB: We all prefer to play outside. So once the weather turns, obviously, we go to two indoor facilities. There are limited options. I had a meeting earlier with a group about possibly building an indoor center here in the Chippewa Valley.

It’s just in its infancy. We were talking about 12 indoor pickleball courts going also in Lake Hallie that are very close to the existing 18 courts. The company just finished building an indoor center in Madison. The same company plans to build in Green Bay and Milwaukee, as well.

CE: What do you hope this new pickleball complex brings to western Wisconsin next year as far as tournament play?

BB: Now going forward with tournaments, we’re going to be hosting one tournament per month starting in May. We have a big national tournament that we are going to be hosting at the end of July, which will be bringing pro athletes to the Chippewa Valley, and it will be the biggest outdoor tournament in the state.