Ocean City Council Makes Final Call On Pickleball Court Fees

OCEAN CITY, NJ — Twelve new Pickleball courts are now complete and the fees have been set. The courts are open to the public for play at the new facility located at 18th Street and Haven Avenue, adjacent to the Ocean City Intermediate School.

Ocean City Council gave final approval to a proposed ordinance setting the fees for court use at its meeting Thursday night, June 22, at City Hall. Council unanimously approved the proposed fees with a 7-0 vote.

The daily fee is set at $5, while weekly passes will be $15. An annual pass will be available for $50. When the ordinance was introduced at the June 8 meeting, Ocean City Director of Community Services Michael Allegretto said the city was trying to be consistent with all the other communities that have pickleball when determining fees. He also said they can’t charge per court because of the way the sport is played.

Pickleball players pay for the day, but have to wait for room to become available. Allegretto compared it to a game of pickup basketball, where the winner will stay and challengers rotate in and out.

On Thursday night, Ocean City Councilman Bob Barr said he had heard from pickleball players that believe what Ocean City is proposing will never work.

"Let's try it for a year and get some feedback," Barr said during the meeting. "Let's just give it some time and see how it goes."

For those looking to try it out, summer hours for pickleball are 7:30 a.m. to dusk daily through Labor Day. For further information, call 609-525-9307.

Attached image was provided