McGaw Park Pickleball Courts

With the increasing popularity of pickleball, the City of Fitchburg sought out raSmith to provide design services for a new pickleball facility at McGaw Park.

raSmith provided the City of Fitchburg with concept-level plans for the entire McGaw Park development, which included a parking lot, pickleball facilities, additional playgrounds, a pavilion, and greenspace. The City has plans to develop the park in multiple phases. raSmith helped with the design of the first phase that included four standard pickleball courts, four ADA-compliant pickleball courts, a multi-use path, storm sewer crossings, and a parking lot. raSmith also coordinated with City engineers to incorporate a water main design parallel with the park design.

The pickleball courts were designed using the USA Pickleball Association (USAPA) and American Sports Builders Association (ASBA) Construction & Maintenance Manual. raSmith was able to provide the City with eight pickleball courts, given the other amenities and space constraints. Four of the eight courts were designed with inclusion in mind. They meet the USAPA and ASBA guidelines for ADA, which means that the sideline areas, as well as the baseline areas, provide ample space for wheelchair play.

The proposed pickleball courts are located west of the existing park facilities and east of a newly developed neighborhood. It was important that the new courts be readily accessible by foot or bike. raSmith designed multi-use paths to connect not only the new development (Fahey Fields) and the existing park to the new courts, but also additional paths that provide more walking trails and other points of access to the new neighborhood.

The first phase of construction was completed by fall 2021. Due to budget constraints, the City will be constructing the parking lot and additional paths at a later time.