Owyhee Park’s Proposed 12 Pickleball Courts: Pending Council Approval
Boise’s Owyhee Park proposal would replace four tennis courts with 12 pickleball courts. See the inventory impact, estimated cost and approval status.
Boise’s Owyhee Park proposal would replace all four existing tennis courts with 12 dedicated pickleball courts. The Boise Parks and Recreation Commission recommended that conversion by a 5–1 vote following its September 16–17, 2026 meeting. That is a recommendation—not a completed conversion or an opening announcement. As of October 6, 2026, the city’s project update still identifies City Council affirmation as the next step.
What the court numbers mean
The proposal is for a dedicated pickleball facility, not additional pickleball lines on tennis courts. Its arithmetic is 12 pickleball courts gained and four tennis courts removed, or three proposed pickleball courts for each existing tennis court.
The table uses Boise Parks and Recreation’s published inventory, checked October 6, 2026. The final column is a calculation assuming Owyhee is completed and no other inventory changes occur—not a count of courts already available.
| Court category | Published Boise parks inventory | Owyhee proposal’s change | Conditional inventory after conversion |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tennis courts | 75 | −4 | 71 |
| Dedicated pickleball courts | 14 | +12 | 26 |
| Dual-use courts | 10 | No change proposed | 10 |
| Bring-your-own-net courts | 12 | No change proposed | 12 |
Source: City of Boise court-conversion FAQ and September commission update. These figures cover the department’s park inventory, not every public or private court in the Boise area.
On that baseline, Owyhee would increase dedicated pickleball inventory by ~86%, from 14 to 26, while reducing tennis inventory by ~5.3%, from 75 to 71. Those percentages describe court counts, not changes in participation or available playing hours.
The city locates its existing 14 dedicated pickleball courts at Eagle Rock Park (two) and Hobble Creek Park (12). Dual-use and bring-your-own-net courts are separate categories; they should not be relabeled as dedicated courts. Our guide to dedicated public versus total pickleball court counts explains why that distinction matters.
Cost and timing
Boise’s Parks and Recreation design team estimates the conversion at ~$150,000. Dividing that estimate by 12 proposed courts gives ~$12,500 per pickleball court. This is an allocation of one conversion-project estimate—not a quoted price for building a new court from scratch. The city says funding would come through its fiscal year 2027 budget if council affirms the proposal. City project page
KIVI reports that council would consider the conversion in October. The city’s update does not establish a firm construction or opening date, so the 12 courts belong in a proposed-project tally, not the operating inventory.
Why 12 matters locally
The proposed addition matches the 12 dedicated pickleball courts previously closed at Willow Lane and Manitou parks following a noise-related legal settlement. The city says those courts reverted to six tennis-only courts. Owyhee would therefore replace that number of lost dedicated pickleball courts, but at a different location and by removing another four tennis courts. City management-plan background
Court totals alone do not resolve the access trade-off. In KIVI’s reporting, tennis players described difficulty finding space around school practices and league play, while a pickleball player welcomed a dedicated hub on the Bench. Those are reported user experiences, not measured occupancy rates.