Wander down to the Basil Mielke tennis courts at the Parkinson Sports Fields on any day of the week, and you will find a blur of activity, with the six courts routinely filled up.
That all changed on Friday, May 9, when the courts were cordoned off and slated for demolition to make room for the new Parkinson Recreation Centre (PRC).
For Maddie Choi, a 10-year-old local tennis player, the court removal hits home.
"I really liked playing there, and people were always there," said Choi. "But it is shocking to see that they are now closed"
The City of Kelowna will be replacing the six courts with four, but those four courts are not set to be completed until the spring of 2027.
In a news release on Friday, May 2, the city outlined their tennis strategy that "considers the growth in our community."
"Future planned courts include: four courts at the Redeveloped Parkinson Recreation Park, three courts at the Glenmore Recreation Park, and five courts at the Mission Recreation Park. Once complete, a gain of six additional tennis courts will be available for users. "
According to Doug Nicholas, the Sport and Event Services Manager with the city, the Glenmore courts will be complete by June, 2026, and the Mission courts by 2027.
"That is our plan, and that is our hope, as tennis has an important place in our community," said Nicholas, as he acknowledged the short-term challenge the tennis community is facing.
In the meantime, several players have spoken out about the dearth of public courts in the area.
"The loss of the Parkinson Courts is quite a shame as there were seniors playing doubles there almost every day of the week, including in the winter," said Kelowna resident Sol Menard. "People were clearing the snow off a few of them in the winter to keep playing."
With the closing of the courts at Parkinson's, just 13 public courts are available to serve a growing population of over 200,000. Of the 13, just four have lights-- two at City Park and two at Jack Robertson Memorial Park
And within the 13 courts, users have complained about the lack of upkeep.
"I have a hard time understanding why the city never fixed existing tennis courts before ripping out the Parkinson’s courts," said Keith Robertson, a longtime Kelowna resident. "Courts in the Rutland area, at Edith Gay and Gerstmar are in horrible condition."
Nicholas said that the city has a resurfacing plan that "systematically works through courts year-by-year."
"There is significant maintenance done every year and we have a plan for them."
In comparison to another racket sport, pickleball, tennis players feel the city is favouring the latter.
"This city is greatly favouring pickleball," said Menard. "Even pickleball players seem to feel entitled to play on designated tennis courts so the tennis courts are becoming limited. As a tennis player, I find this very frustrating and unfair."
In the coming years within the city, pickleball will see a net gain of 37 courts, which includes four at DeHart Park, 12 more at PRC, nine at Glenmore Recreation Park and 12 at a new Pickleball Dome on Kelowna Springs Golf Course.
The 12 pickleball courts at PRC will be doubled to 24, and, unlike tennis, have not been temporarily lost to construction.
According to Nicholas, by 2027, pickleball and tennis will have separate 'feature' court areas.
"Mission will be the feature courts for tennis," said Nicholas. "Parkinson will be the hub for pickleball, and there will be feature courts throughout the city, like at Glenmore."
Genadiy Selivanov, secretary with the Okanagan Tennis Association, thinks that the city's priorities are shifting to pickleball.
"We understand the need to expand pickleball facilities to accommodate its growing popularity, however, this should not come at the expense of tennis," he said. "A balanced approach that addresses the needs of both communities would better align with the city's stated commitment to inclusivity and active living."
Nicholas explained that he and his staff had been in communication with "the different user groups, throughout the process of the ongoing projects."
"We have had discussions for several years regarding the growth of courts, and we were in communication as best as we could with the relevant user groups."
Nicholas stressed patience, and teased the potential for new indoor courts in the area.
"Hopefully, we will have something to share on that end (for indoor courts) in the days ahead," said Nicholas. "We recognize the need for tennis in our community and we will continue to improve our inventory."
Right now, Global Fitness Kelowna has the only indoor courts (three) in the city, but the property is under threat of redevelopment.
As for Choi and her tennis journey, she had emailed Mayor Tom Dyas on the impact of tennis in the community and what the loss of the PRC courts would mean, but she never received a response from his office.
"How are you going to play tennis if all the courts are too busy," she said. "I just hope the Mayor read what I had to say."
