10/12/2021

Good afternoon!

Finally some INCREDIBLE news as far as our courts are concerned (I know, it's about time right?)!!!

The 7 remaining pickleball nets arrived at my home this morning.  They are the Putterman Pro1223 Regulation Size Nets (22 feet long by 32 inches tall).  With perfect timing the 4 remaining pairs of high quality pickleball posts arrived today as well!

Hani Nassar (President of the Greater Hickory Tennis Association) and Nick (the contractor) will be installing the 4 remaining pairs of pickleball posts and the 7 pickleball nets during the day tomorrow!

After a couple days to make sure the posts are settled and in the ground solidly, all 3 courts at Taft Broome and all 6 courts at Westmont should be open for play by this Saturday!!!  Finally, ALL of our 9 brand new courts will be ready!!!

I know this process has had a lot of delays along the way (including the drainage problem at the Optimist courts and the courts there being repaired and resurfaced now being pushed back until next April)!  I apologize for all of the delays, but as the process developed some situations occured in which less than perfect posts and nets were delivered.  

When that happened I felt like a choice had to be made: 1) go with inferior products and get on the courts quicker, or 2) delay the opening of the courts and go with superior products.  I felt like since we had waited on new courts in our community for a while now, that waiting the extra two months would be worth it to have the courts as good as they can possibly be.  I appreciate your incredible patience as we've added these nine new pickleball courts to our community!!!

Again, when you have a chance, please call/e-mail Mark Seaman (Director of Recreation and Sports Tourism for Hickory), Hani Nassar (President of the Greater Hickory Tennis Association), and/or anyone with the City of Hickory who helped make these 9 new courts in Hickory a reality!

Hope to see everyone on the (new) courts soon!

Have a wonderful evening!!!

B. Benjamin Bishop 
Foothills Pickleball Association