A proposal for 25 acres of space at Joe Creason Park has neighbors, pickleball enthusiasts and some local leaders at odds.
The proposal, which is projected to cost $65 million, comes from the recently formed nonprofit Kentucky Tennis & Pickleball Center, Inc. If successful, it would transform the area with a new multi-court tennis and pickleball complex.
According to a news release earlier this month, the complex would include the following:
- 12 indoor and 24 outdoor tennis courts
- 14 indoor and 4 outdoor pickleball courts
- A family-friendly restaurant, locker rooms, pro shop, kids’ club, and community room
The facility would charge rental fees for courts, once opened. It would also have a health club, sports medicine clinic and virtual reality training area.
One goal of the complex is to host local, state, national and international tournaments.
“We would like to create a racket sports facility that would be able to help every single person in our community… and make racket sports more accessible,” Will Davis, the organization’s CEO and head men’s tennis coach at Bellarmine University, said.
According to Davis, the complex would add an additional 7.2 acres to the existing 5.2 acres of developed land in the entire 25-acre space.
The tennis and pickleball nonprofit is asking for a $20 million municipal city bond from Louisville Metro Government to help cover the cost of building the complex. Davis aims to secure the rest of the funding through the state government and private donors.
A news release about the proposed project said “the state-of-the-art facility will generate annually more than $17 million in visitor spending, more than 70,000 hotel stays, $1.2 million in Louisville bed tax revenue, and $1 million in Kentucky sales tax.”
The project already has backing from some city officials, like Mayor Craig Greenberg.
“We’re proud to support a project that will make Louisville a national leader in tennis, pickleball, and community-centered development, and we look forward to receiving neighborhood and community input to learn about their hopes and goals for this project,” Kevin Trager, the press secretary for Mayor’s office, said in emailed statement.
Because it’s on public city property, Louisville Metro Council would need to approve the deal between the tennis and pickleball group and the city before construction could be able to move forward.
Davis said construction would likely take at least two years to complete, putting the potential opening of the complex in 2028.
There are two community meetings scheduled for community members to voice their feelings about the development. One is scheduled for May 6 at 6 p.m. at Cyril Allgeier Community Center, and another is set for May 10. A time and location for the second meeting have yet to be announced.
“We want to engage with every single person. That's been the whole goal,” Davis said.
But some community stakeholders are already making their opinions known.
The neighborhood
“I haven't heard anything really positive about it,” Leigh Kolley, who lives walking distance from Joe Creason. “It just doesn't sit well with the idea that a park could be used for something other than for the public.”
When Kolley and her neighbors heard about the proposal in the news, she said it didn’t take long for them to organize “Save Joe Creason,” a neighborhood group aimed at protecting the park from development.
Kolley said one of her chief concerns with the complex is traffic.
“On a busy day at the zoo, traffic is backed up onto Poplar Level Road, Newburg Road, often back entirely to the Watterson Expressway,” Kolley said.
Davis said the nonprofit commissioned an independent study that found the complex would create a “zero material difference” in traffic even on the zoo’s busiest days.
Josie Raymond is the Metro Council member representing District 10, which includes Joe Creason Park. She said she’s heard mostly negative responses from her constituents.
“I’ve heard from hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of constituents who are opposed to this proposal or want their critical questions answered before it moves forward,” Raymond, a Democrat, said. “I've heard from two people in favor of this proposal who are constituents.”
Raymond echoed a sentiment that Kolley shared: the issue isn’t the complex itself, but rather its proposed location.
“Nobody is saying there's no place for this sort of development in Louisville. They're saying this is the only location that's really been looked at. And let's look at some others and see if they're more appropriate,” Raymond said.
The Louisville Nature Center
Right across from the proposed facility is the Louisville Nature Center. Part of the center’s mission is to protect 80 acres of forest, which is free and open to the public to explore.
“We have really strong concerns about the impact to the wildlife, including migration, especially migratory birds.” Rebecca Minnick, executive director at the Nature Center, said. “Light and noise pollution will affect their migration, their nesting, their foraging, their courtship, their mating. It really affects every aspect of their life.”
Davis said he wants the facility to have net-zero emissions, solar panels and that they’re working with Dark Sky International to reduce light pollution concerns.
Despite these promises, Minnick’s concerns remain.
“We feel very strongly that it's going to have quite a huge impact on the nature center,” she said.
Louisville’s tennis community
Former operator of the Louisville Tennis Center, Pete McGrath, said he was “sickened” by the announcement of the proposal. The center sits on part of the land the Kentucky Tennis & Pickleball Center Inc. wants to acquire.
“We made sure that we blended into the neighborhood park with respect to our neighbors,” McGrath said of the courts currently located there.
He said being operated by a private entity, rather than the parks department, could lead to the facility being inaccessible to marginalized communities.
It currently costs $10 for a one-hour tennis court rental at Joe Creason, and Kentucky Tennis & Pickleball Center Inc. has said it would charge “market rates” for rentals.
“There's no negotiation as to what their rates are going to be. They are going to charge what they call market [prices], so when they say that they are going to be open to everyone and they're going to be inclusive [in] their price structure, they don't even understand that people can't afford what they're talking about,” McGrath said.
Davis said he and the Kentucky Tennis & Pickleball Center Inc. are open to speaking with community stakeholders and hearing their concerns.
If the project is approved by Metro Council, the rest of this year will be spent finalizing designs and securing funding. Construction would be set to start fall 2026.
