The installation of six pickleball courts at Smith Sports Complex would provide a dedicated place for players of the game. But the project would require the removal of 42 parking spaces as well, which has raised safety concerns for youth lacrosse and soccer leaders.

In April, Durango Parks and Recreation revealed plans for six pickleball courts on the east end of the Smith Sports Complex parking lot at Fort Lewis College. The project, which is planned for 2023, would include perimeter fencing around and between the courts, and shaded areas and benches between them.

But it would also require the removal of 42 parking spaces out of 240 spaces in the parking lot to the west to accommodate the courts. The parking lot was originally slated to lose 72 spaces, but after discussions with Parks and Recreation Director Ture Nycum, the Durango Youth Soccer Association was able to bring the number down to 42 spaces, said Doug Wallis, president of the soccer association.

Reception of the pickleball plans was positive at a public announcement, but since then youth sports officials have asked for reconsideration. They say the removal of parking spaces would clog the parking lot and create a safety hazard for children crossing the street to reach the soccer field. Some youth sports officials are upset they weren’t included in the discussion about potential pickleball courts in the first place.

The Durango Youth Soccer Association is a big proponent of the Smith Sports Complex, Wallis said. It generates tens of thousands of dollars for the city of Durango when teams and their supporters flock to town for weekendlong tournaments.

He and other youth sports officials are concerned that the loss of parking could deter teams from participating in events held at the complex. And he said that could cost the city of Durango and its businesses a lot of money.

“It does generate a heck of a lot of money for the city,” he said. “In 2019, Fort Lewis did a study and concluded it generated, I think, $2.3 million in economic activity, $60,000 in revenue for the city between the sales tax and the lodgers tax. So that’s a big deal.”

The Smith Sports Complex parking lot already fills up fast when youth sports games and tournaments are going on, Wallis said. Adult sports leagues also use the space, sometimes at the same time as youth sports events.

Nora Foutz, president of Durango Lacrosse Club, said the primary safety concern is with the lack of a stop sign on East Eighth Avenue at Talon Drive – a busy intersection when FLC is holding regular classes, Wallis said.

Overflow cars would need to park on the side of the road or use the parking lot at FLC’s Community Concert Hall.

Foutz said putting aside the fact that the Concert Hall’s parking lot belongs to the college – and permission to use it could be revoked at any time – it’s an unsafe place for children to cross the road.

“That’s one of our concerns, is the safety of the children,” she said.

But safety isn’t her and others’ only concern when it comes to the proposed pickleball courts. She said youth sports officials are “peeved” that the city didn’t talk to them about the project before revealing it to the public.

“We weren’t engaged about this plan,” she said. “And I understand that they’re getting a lot of pressure from the pickleball people – they want their courts. Totally get that.”

She said she wants a traffic study done to evaluate the impact of removing 72 parking spaces, which was the original plan as of the public project presentation in April.

Nycum said the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board most recently had discussions about options for pickleball courts in February and March. A survey was sent to stakeholders in late April, Nycum said, which triggered conversations with youth sports organizations.

He said the Parks and Recreation Department is looking into other locations near Smith Sports Complex that would be suitable for overflow parking. One hundred and fifty parking spaces are present at FLC’s Center of Southwest Studies. He said the college has agreed to allow those spaces to be used during busy sports days.

Another possible parking opportunity lies with a dirt road between the sports complex parking lot and tennis courts west of there. The road could possibly be used for overflow parking, too, Nycum said.

“We’re trying to still kind of hone in on what we’re looking at over there to see what we can do to mitigate any potential loss of parking,” he said. “It’s still very much being reviewed and being analyzed.”

Foutz said it is often windy at the Smith Sports Complex and questioned how playable pickleball would be at the location.

“There’s gotta be something done before they do this,” Foutz said. “We are not opposed to pickleball at all. But it would be nice to see if they can – temporarily – maybe use one or two of the tennis courts (and) just paint the lines and see how much it’s used. Just as a test thing.”

Foutz and Wallis said they’d prefer if the pickleball courts were installed in Santa Rita Park or another location.

“The parking was designed to accommodate athletic fields because lacrosse uses them as much as we (soccer) do now,” Wallis said. “And of course, there’s the adult league, and then parks and rec itself uses the sports complex for their program.”

He said the parking lot is full even during youth sports practices during the evenings.

Youth soccer and lacrosse plus adult athletics make for a full and overflowing parking lot, he said.

“To add six pickleball courts – even if they went with (removing) 40 parking places, I don’t think they’re taking into consideration that six pickleball courts is 24 more people if they’re all playing doubles,” he said. “... So you’re really filling up 64 places.

“If you really think about it hard, the people waiting to play next are going to be parking, waiting to use the pickleball courts,” he said. “So you’re probably taking away another 30 or 40 total spaces on top of the 40 that’ll be eliminated by the pickleball courts themselves.”

Nycum said balancing and planning for competing interests among residents can be challenging for Parks and Recreation and that some “threading (of) the needle” is a necessity. There is only so much space in town for recreational activities, and multiuse facilities must be considered.

He said Parks and Recreation takes youth sports organizers’ concerns to heart and wants to find the best outcome for everyone.

“There’s going to be some give and take as we move forward,” he said.

cburney@durangoherald.com