Tellico Village’s PicklePlex project, in the works since 2019, is officially open for use.
Residents came out in the hundreds Nov. 2 for a ribbon-cutting ceremony, complete with live music and complimentary food and drinks.
Though the event did not officially start until 4 p.m., many were already there well before, lining up for free beer and hot dogs or taking the opportunity to try out the new courts. Overflow parking was eventually needed in the grass next to the Wellness Center as hundreds gathered for the occasion.
By 4:30 p.m., the complex was surrounded as Walt Cook, Timeless Tellico Foundation president, stepped onto the courts to deliver a brief speech.
TTF was one of the key drivers of the project, partnering with the Tellico Village Pickleball Club when the idea first emerged over three years ago and raising the funds for the courts.
“This is great, it’s finally come to fruition,” Cook said. “Working on the concept and what have you and then slowly getting to build it, getting it put together and then people starting to believe we can get it done, seeing this come to fruition is just fantastic. And this is a great asset for the community.”
Tellico Village Property Owners Association President Marty Inkrott represented the POA, which in February approved funding for the PicklePlex roof, Rich Karakis, PickePlex committee chair, gave a brief history of the spread of “the pickleball virus” in the Village and Public Works Director Clayton Moore and Director of Recreation Simon Bradbury spoke on how the PicklePlex was the result of cooperation from a number of organizations and people.
TTF then officially presented a check for $222,000 to the POA, covering the cost of the courts, while heads of the various contributing organizations joined together for the ribbon cutting to signal the official opening of the courts. Attendants then returned to their food and drink, played some pickleball or danced on one of the courts where a band played for the next few hours.
“I was getting weepy,” Karakis said. “It’s been a long haul. It was a dream, we all wanted it. … It means everything in the world to me. It’s an amenity, beyond pickleball, it’s an amenity for the Village. And the fact that 700 members of the pickleball club participated in it, it’s going to be impactful for the whole Village. It means a great deal.”
Karakis was the pickleball club’s president when the project was first conceived in 2018 following a club-wide survey. Over 300 members responded, and additional and covered courts emerged as the overwhelming priority.
The PicklePlex got underway in earnest in 2019 when TTF was chartered and took on its first major project.
Karakis opted not to run again for president to instead take on the role as chair of the PicklePlex committee as fundraising began, but the COVID-19 pandemic quickly threw a wrench in the project. Opportunities for fundraising events decreased simultaneous to reduced availability of labor and increase in costs.
By the time the PicklePlex went out to bid in 2020, having raised enough money for the original estimate, the cost for both the courts and the roof had nearly doubled.
“This is a gigantic project, and we were fledgling when they came and presented it to us,” Cook said. “And we suffered through COVID and supply chain and all that kind of junk to get it done. But this is big, this will show people what our foundation is.”
With the project separated in two phases — one the courts and the second the roof — fundraising focused on getting money for the courts. While originally expected at $130,000, final costs came closer to $220,000. Once TTF reached that amount earlier this year, pickleball growth had continued and the POA stepped in to contribute to the project and pay for the roof — originally estimated around $215,000 but now $465,000 — out of the amenity reserve.
Karakis and Cook said the plan had been to focus on courts first because a roof with no courts would have been useless, but the other way made more sense from a construction perspective. They were thankful to have all funds available and be able to put on the roof before the courts.
The project finally broke ground June 17. The ceremony was originally set for Oct. 20, but, in a perfect reflection of the project’s journey, one final delay moved the celebration back a couple more weeks.
While a few more additions will be considered, such as bleachers, tables, benches and a donor wall of fame, no further construction will take place for at least a couple of months. Karakis said they would now use the courts, assess the situation and needs, and go from there.
“Tonight I’m going to sleep well for the first time in a while and I’m not going to do squat,” he said. “What we’re going to do is not do a thing relative to how the courts are, just see how it plays after several months and see what do we need. … The campaign though is closed. The campaign is shut, it’s done, and I can sleep tonight.”
Cook added that TTF has some money left over in an unrestricted fund designated for potential PicklePlex additions.
