Utica Unveils First Ever Outdoor Pickleball Courts

UTICA -- Utica Mayor Robert M. Palmieri announced the completion of the first outdoor pickleball courts in the history of the City of Utica. 

The courts are located in Horatio Seymour Park and were completed this fall, following the explosive growth of pickleball across the nation. These particular courts have a unique surface, provided by Mateflex, a local company located on Broad Street the specializes in sports flooring. This sophisticated, state-of-the-art system of cross ribs affords a completely flat play surface that puts a spring into every step, improves comfort on the court, reduces fatigue and leg stress, and heightens play. Mateflex provided the surface at a significant discount for its home city and offered supervision during installation performed by our DPW staff, to ensure accuracy and cost savings.

In an effort to modify its park system to accommodate as many residents as possible, the City of Utica will add 12 pickleball courts combined, at three different park locations: Chancellor Park, Roscoe Conkling Park and Seymour Park.  The Seymour Park courts are the first to be complete, with the remaining courts mentioned to be ready for use Spring, 2024.

The courts are located adjacent to the Jim Boeheim Basketball Courts, which were upgraded in 2016 by the Jim and Julie Boeheim foundation.  They replace a single, old, rarely used tennis court that was due for a makeover. The courts also feature a new fence around the perimeter to separate the pickleball courts from the basketball courts. The total cost of the project was roughly $40,000.

Mayor Robert M. Palmieri: “The City of Utica is continuing to grow and evolve and accommodating pickleball players is something that was missing that is now part of our great parks. This court is unique because of the surface and will be a hit in the North Utica neighborhood. From disc golf, to skate parks, to splash pads, a skating rink, dog parks, bocce and now pickleball – the park amenities for a small city like Utica are becoming world-class. The goal is to have a city that people visit and move to in part because of our beautiful parks.”

Councilman Joseph Betrus said: “North Utica is a great place for people of all ages to live and visit. The creation of these pickleball courts will just enhance the neighborhood that much more by giving people another option for recreation. When you combine the dog park at Cinderella Field with the new pickleball courts at Seymour Park, we’ve added to our already beautiful park system in a way that can benefit not just North Utica, but the surrounding areas.”

Jack Liberty of Mateflex said: “Mateflex is proud to be a Utica business and was proud to service this project for our neighbors and our hometown. When people see the quality of the surface on these courts, I have no doubt that Seymour Park will host some of the most popular pickleball courts in the area. It’s our hope to continue to work with the City of Utica to provide world-class sports surfaces for all of our neighbors and visitors.”