Council approved Brasfield & Gorrie's $8.61 million build price Oct. 27 for the 25-court pickleball complex at 1641 3rd Ave., now a $9.2 million project.
The city’s pickleball complex at 1641 3rd Ave. will be built at full size. Columbus Council approved $1.7 million more for the project Oct. 13. That keeps 25 courts, including 16 under a roof and four under the 2nd Avenue bridge.
Updated Nov. 2: Council approved the $8.61 million guaranteed price for construction Oct. 27, according to the summary minutes of that meeting. The project is put at $9.2 million in all. The full Oct. 13 minutes record the earlier vote as 7-2. Details are in the sections below.
The decision is in the summary minutes of the Oct. 13 meeting. Council approved the money “to maintain project scope.” City staff are to find where it comes from.
The full minutes of Oct. 13, in the Oct. 27 meeting packet, record the vote as 7-2. Councilor Joanne Cogle made the motion and Councilor Charmaine Crabb seconded it.
- Yes: Mayor Pro Tem R. Gary Allen and Councilors Travis Chambers, Cogle, Crabb, Glenn Davis, Walker Garrett and Bruce Huff
- No: Councilors Simi Barnes and Cathy Cook
- Absent for the vote: Councilor Toyia Tucker
The construction price
Council approved the construction price for the complex Oct. 27. It is purchase item 14E in the same packet. Brasfield & Gorrie of Columbus, which the city hired in December 2025 to design and build the complex, will build it for a guaranteed maximum price of $8,610,000.
| Cost | Amount |
|---|---|
| Design-build estimate when Brasfield & Gorrie was hired (Dec. 9, 2025) | $7 million |
| Guaranteed maximum price for construction | $8.61 million |
| City costs outside the contract (low-voltage and security systems, fiber, site lighting) | about $600,000 |
| Total project estimate | $9.2 million |
The agenda item says the money is in the fiscal 2027 budget from three sources:
- General Fund reserves
- Tax allocation district funding, from the 2nd Avenue/City Village TAD
- OLOST infrastructure reserves
The Columbus Pickleball Association “will contribute approximately $380,000” toward building the complex once a memorandum of understanding is signed, according to the item. The Oct. 27 summary minutes record purchase items 14A to 14E as approved together, without a vote count. They list two speakers on pickleball in the public agenda, with no action taken. They do not mention the memorandum of understanding.
The three options
The project was running over budget. Ryan Pruett, the city’s director of inspections and code, gave Council three choices on Oct. 13. They are set out in his slides in the meeting packet (item 15A):
| Option | Courts | What it meant |
|---|---|---|
| Keep the current budget | 17 | No covered courts; no separate maintenance building |
| $1 million more | 21 | 16 covered, 1 championship court and 4 outdoor courts |
| $1.7 million more (chosen) | 25 | All of the above, plus 4 courts under the 2nd Avenue bridge |
The slides priced the four courts under the bridge at $700,000.
What will be built
The project scope in the slides includes:
- 21 post-tensioned concrete courts, plus the four under the bridge
- sports lighting for all courts
- a 2,800-square-foot pro shop with concessions and restrooms
- a 470-square-foot maintenance building
- about 90 parking spaces
- 12 shade structures, walkways, seating and landscaping
No opening date has been published.
Where the money may come from
Council first took up the overrun at a Sept. 29 work session. Pruett told Council the project was expected to run $1.7 million over budget, according to the minutes of that meeting.
Staff said then that the extra money would come from General Fund reserves. The minutes put it at the equivalent of 2.3 days of reserves. On Oct. 13 Council left the final funding source to staff.
The Sept. 29 minutes also set out how the complex would be run:
- the city’s Parks and Recreation Department would maintain it
- the Columbus Pickleball Association would contribute money or equipment, the same setup the city has with CORTA at the Cooper Creek Tennis Courts
- Councilor Charmaine Crabb asked staff to add revenue-sharing for association tournaments to a draft agreement with the group
- Councilor Cathy Cook asked staff to bring back cost-sharing options, including what the association might pay
Lance Tankersley, president of the Columbus Pickleball Association, spoke to Council on Oct. 13. The summary minutes do not record what he said. The minutes do not say whether a cost-sharing deal was reached.
What it means for you
- If you play, the city is building the bigger complex: 25 courts, 16 of them covered. No opening date has been set.
- If you pay Columbus property taxes, the complex is city money: General Fund reserves, tax allocation district funding and OLOST reserves, with about $380,000 from the pickleball association. Our property taxes page has the city’s millage rates and who to ask about the budget.
- If you have a view, contact your district’s council member. Numbers and emails are on our who to call at City Hall page.
Our parks and trails guide covers the city’s parks.
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