Pickleball courts help modernize popular recreation site

Growing interest in pickleball gave the City of Manchester, Iowa, an opportunity to reimagine one of its most popular recreation spaces. The City hired Fehr Graham to replace aging tennis courts that had been resurfaced multiple times with asphalt overlays. The goal was to create a more durable, lower-maintenance facility that could serve more residents.

Phase I included a topographic survey and civil site design for a replacement tennis court and two pickleball courts. The project incorporated features, including fiber-reinforced concrete for construction to eliminate the labor associated with installing and reinforcing steel while extending pavement life and reducing long-term maintenance. The team carefully designed the pavement thickness to support pedestrian traffic without adding unnecessary construction costs.

Fehr Graham also developed a joint layout that kept expansion joints away from playing lines and leveraged larger joint panels made possible by fiber-reinforced concrete. To improve long-term performance, the design team incorporated expansion joints around every fence post foundation, allowing the courts to move independently during seasonal frost.

During Phase II construction, our team addressed fiber balling by breaking apart or removing concentrated fiber clusters before concrete placement. City staff partnered with Fehr Graham by removing the courts and preparing the subbase before construction started.
Fehr Graham also helped the City secure a $20,000 Bud Johnson Grant to expand pickleball opportunities.

Our team worked closely with the City's Parks and Recreation director and City staff throughout the project. By combining innovative materials with thoughtful engineering, Fehr Graham delivered a recreation facility built to serve the City for decades.