Lehi City News
Lehi residents ask City Council for changes at Legacy Center
Nichole Coombs | Lehi Free Press
Resident asks: more indoor pickleball areas, removal of member-only hours
The demand for indoor pickleball courts is at an all-time high at the Lehi Legacy Center. A recent petition circulated, asking that pickleball lines be added to some basketball courts, making them usable for indoor pickleball games.
The sport has been around since 1965, when three dads on Bainbridge Island, Washington, created the game to entertain their bored children. Since then, pickleball has slowly spread across the country and experienced a massive global boom in the last two decades.
“It’s a really fun game and a great way to connect with others,” said Lehi resident Sarie Christiansen. “We are experiencing positive things happening with volleyball [at the Legacy Center], and I think pickleball would do that ten times over.”
Christiansen works at the Legacy Center part-time and says she can see the possibilities.
“There are gaps in the schedule where pickleball could use one or two of the courts,” said Christiansen. “We already figured out how to add volleyball early in the morning on Saturday; we can find a place for pickleball. We are only asking for 20 hours of play per week.”
During the Lehi City Council meeting on September 8, Christiansen addressed the council about the need to find an indoor play space.
“We’ve collected over 250 signatures from people who would support adding lines to the indoor court. I’ve done some research, and it’s an investment of about $3,000.”
Another resident told the council he drives to different locations in Utah County and even up to the Oquirrh Park Fitness Center near the Olympic Oval in Kearns to find space to play. He told the council there’s a real need for an indoor place to play in Lehi City.
The petition also asked that the community center remove member-only hours from its schedule.
“When I was teaching classes in 2016, we would have as many as 30 people in a fitness class at a time,” said Cami Purtschert. “When Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain were booming, there was no infrastructure out there, so they would come to the rec center, and classes would fill up. It made sense to have member hours then, but it doesn’t anymore.”
Purtschert says twice a day, between 5 and 8 a.m., and then again from 9-11 p.m., paying customers are turned away because they aren’t members.
“Our numbers have declined,” said Purtschert. “We are experiencing a little bit of a boom right now, and we want people to bring their friends to a class or to play ball.”
According to Purtschert, the Legacy Center is the only rec center in Utah County that has member-only hours.
“We want to see our classes grow like when we have family and friends come visit from out of town or during the holidays. Right now, they can’t even come to some of the classes because they are during member-only hours. The hours feel more like a penalty than a perk.”
Both Purtschert and Christensen see the Legacy Center as an important part of the community.
“The rec center is a very special place,” said Christensen. “A lot of really good people come there to exercise, but it’s also a place to feel like you are in a community. It really does provide a place for people to connect in different ways. Playing games like pickleball with others is very beneficial to the community and to individuals who may need a friend or a moment of fun.”
