HISTORICAL COURTS GET A FACELIFT

In July of 2013, then Mayor Pro-Tem Stavros Anthony opened the pickleball courts at Police Memorial Park.  The location served as the first venue for the City of Las Vegas to offer outdoor pickleball.  The facility transitioned from an underutilized roller hockey rink into four dedicated pickleball courts. The amenity deserves a facelift after twelve years of service to the pickleball community, which now welcomes the addition of four more courts.

Police Memorial temporarily closed for public use in September of 2024, making way for a $5.2 million renovation. The park is operated by the City of Las Vegas which plans to reopen the venue in May of 2025.  The project will bring upgrades to existing amenities including parking, shade structures, lights, turf, and the dog park.  Current basketball and pickleball courts will be resurfaced.  Four more pickleball courts will be added in addition to a K-9 memorial.

Following is a historical link to its dedication https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABjx2plO5mE . The courts are the result of awareness, raised early on by John Donovan Sloan, a community pickleball pioneer and early USA Pickleball ambassador.  His campaign and diligence paid off bringing dedicated courts to the City of Las Vegas.  Thanks to Mr Sloan's early efforts, many novice players learned pickleball at Police Memorial and went on to share the sport across the Valley.

We thank Mr Sloan for his dedication to sport and influence in the community.  Here are some early pictures of the 2013 conversion of the amenity.

Original courts under construction.

John received a proclamation from the Clark County Commission in February 2022 honoring his volunteer work promoting the growth of pickleball.

The park refresh continues.  January 2025 is the halfway mark.  The old makes way for the new.  Here are some photos  of the construction that began in September.

January 13, 2025

Wayne Bunker Park Revisions

The agenda for the upcoming City Planning Commission has been published.  The meeting is Tuesday, December 12, 2023 at 6pm in the Council Chambers at 495 South Main Street.

There is a heavy agenda (37 items).  Pickleball is item 22b on the agenda.  This is a revision (23-0382-SDR1) to a previously approved development plan Z-002-88(1) for the park. The project is 3 years in the making.  It is time to call the question and move forward.  This project  is subsequent to a City of Las Vegas $12,009,000 grant award by the BLM.

Project 23-0382

https://lasvegas.primegov.com/Portal/Meeting?meetingTemplateId=15857

You can voice you pre-approval prior to the meeting at 

https://cityoflasvegas.formstack.com/forms/planning_application_comments

You can find an image of the footprint at Bunker_Pickleball_Site_Plan_Colored.pdf (southernnevadapickleball.org)

It is imperative that picklers attend this meeting and/or speak in favor of bringing courts to this park. We need to compliment the City's willingness to address concerns of previous plans and mitigation efforts to control noise and manage congestion.  We need to provide constructive comments and recommendations for improvement.

The number of courts went from 30 to 24, a high wall was added on the south side and distance applied to court placement to address the concerns of neighbors.

Hopefully,  the City can remedy the limited parking based on the number of courts. 

We need more courts and this is an excellent solution. Your consideration and support is greatly appreciated.

Please express your recommendations to a SNP Board member and consider coming to the meeting.

December 6, 2023

2023 Heroes Open

The annual Heroes Open was held at Sunset Park November 9-12th. Over 240 players gathered to raise monies for three nonprofit organizations: Southern Nevada Pickleball, Clark County Fire Fighters Local 1908 "Proud to Rescue Benevolent fund" and the Law Enforcement Assistance Fund (LEAF). This was a tribute to our veterans and early responders. We thank the players, volunteers, SNP leadership, USAP ambassadors and Excel pickleball for making a quality professional tournament happen.

November 12, 2023

Cora Coleman vs Desert Breeze

The Cora Coleman Senior Center battled Desert Breeze Community Center today in an Elite 8 Seniors Pickleball Tournament at Sunset Park. A squad of 4 mixed-doubles teams selected from each Center participated in a double elimination competition sponsored by Clark County Parks and Recreation. Rico and Keiko prevailed, and the trophy travels back to Desert Breeze for display until next season. A special thanks to Russell Thompson and his staff for making this happen and Commissioner Justin Jones for sponsoring the event. Awesome players and volunteers.

October 19, 2023

Age 55 plus forum - Mini Competitions

Southern Nevada Pickleball Club is pleased to announce the establishment of a pilot program that brings together eight senior communities in our region. The primary objectives of this program are to cultivate new friendships, foster a sense of community that embraces all, and provide opportunities for seniors to engage in recreational activities. We recognize that the success of this venture is contingent upon careful evaluation, and we are currently in the trial phase to determine its viability for future continuation. Throughout this initial phase, we have already witnessed the formation of new friendships and the unification of senior communities that might not have had the opportunity to connect otherwise. On the 12th of November, we will conclude this trial period and conduct a thorough analysis of the program's advantages and disadvantages to make an informed decision about its future. We wish to express our gratitude to all those who have played a part in making this initiative possible, with a special acknowledgment to the Team Captains and their assistants. Your dedication and commitment have been instrumental in shaping this endeavor. The eight communities participating in this program include: Heritage Henderson, Aliante, Regency, Sun City Summerlin, Trilogy Summerlin, Trilogy Sunstone, Siena and Heritage Stonebridge. Regardless of the outcome, we are confident that it has already made a positive impact by bringing communities together and creating opportunities for social engagement. Thank you to everyone involved, and let's continue to work together to strengthen our senior communities and foster lasting connections.

October18, 2023

FUNd raiser for referee academy

Players supported a fun evening at Sunset Park for a good cause. Thanks to the Pickleball Community, monies were raised to help with the upcoming referee Academy. We appreciate all who donated and came out for the fun event.

Music was provided by our one and only Randy Wheeler. It was fun to have an event that brought players together from the north and south parts of the Valley..

Great partnership with the referees, Excel Pickleball and Southern Nevada Pickleball. Special thanks to all of you who donated the beautiful raffle baskets.

We appreciate all of you who are part of Southern, Nevada Pickleball, as it is your membership that allows these events to happen.

Also, a special thanks to all of our referees who take the time to go through the tremendous training and perseverance.  Their efforts allow us to have great tournaments both here in Las Vegas and throughout the country.

JAugust 13, 2023