If you’re a pickleball enthusiast, the current improvements at Fish Park might have you warming up your rackets as Oakdale adds a second court to the city limits as part of a major upgrade to Fish Park.

In April, the Oakdale City Council approved $370,000 to start the Fish Park improvements that included new pavement, a two-court tennis and pickleball facility, sidewalk, 10-feet of fencing, new electrical system for lighting, as well as replace the existing basketball hoop and install new striping.

In addition, improvements were slated for production well No. 7, which included new concrete, fencing, driveway, and concrete generator pad.

While it has been almost 40 years since production well No. 7 has seen any signification upgrades, it’s the pickleball court that has some residents excited.

The current court at Gilbert Park is almost always in use, necessitating a trip to Riverbank for players to use their courts.

Pickleball, a hybrid racket game created in the late 1960s by former Washington State congressman, Joel Pritchard and his buddy Bill Bell, is a cross between badminton and ping-pong that relies heavily on the badminton rules.

And it’s all the rage right now.

According to city documents, this project has been in the works for some time and it’s only been now that conditions were favorable to move forward with construction.

The development of the tennis/pickleball courts have been anticipated for at least 25 years and was identified as a project in the City’s Capital Facilities Fee study adopted by the City Council Jan. 8, 2016. This project is accounted for in the City’s most recently adopted Fiscal Year Budget in the amount of $370,000.

There is no impact to the City’s General Fund.

Barring unforeseen complications, the contractor estimates project completion by June 30.