TUCSON — Hundreds of pickleball players packed a meeting room at Udall Park tonight to protest a proposed fee to use the public courts, but many left feeling their voices were ignored by city officials.
Monday morning the pickleball community showed up at the Udall courts to protest the city's proposal. Tonight, players swapped their paddles for handmade signs, squeezing into a room with Tucson Parks and Recreation representatives Lara Hamwey and Greg Jackson. The crowd of over 200 people gathered to oppose the city's plan.
Attendees expressed frustration with the format and outcome of the meeting.
"This meeting here is a joke. It's a disaster," Margaret Eller, Vice President of "All In" Youth Pickleball said. "I was at the meeting last night. We sat around. We had conversations. I just feel like the city did not want to hear us. Parks and Rec did not want to hear us tonight, so we have over 200 people in this room not being heard," the player said.
Hamwey told the crowd that every comment submitted on paper or online will count. However, players pressed for clear answers on where the proposed fees would go.
"Can I guarantee that all the revenue generated doesn't end up in different places? Until we end up in a process and we see what the response is...It's really hard to commit," Hamwey said.
For many players, the lack of clarity and the feeling of being dismissed overshadowed the discussion.
"We talked, but I don't know if our voices were heard," Leonard Finkel, board member of the Tucson Area Pickleball, said.
"I mean when they say we can't talk to you until after they make the decision, that doesn't make any sense to me," Finkel said.
Players argue the issue is bigger than a fee; it is about protecting a community that feels like family.
"The feeling that we got at Udall and my wife likes to use the word vibe, it's such a welcoming community and it's like a family," Finkel said with a smile.
The meeting ended with the crowd singing a familiar song from "Cheers," but without any solutions. Players say they will keep fighting to maintain the welcoming atmosphere at the Udall Park courts.
