ESCANABA, Mich. (WZMQ) – The City of Escanaba is applying for funding to update Royce Park on Sixth Avenue South.
The Escanaba Recreation Department has applied for a $300,000 Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund (MNRTF) grant. According to Recreation Department director Kim Peterson, the funds would be used to resurface the basketball court and to construct eight courts exclusively for pickleball.
“Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the U.S., and we have a large group that come and play,” said Peterson. “We have three multi-use courts inside the Civic Center, but we don’t have any dedicated courts just for pickleball. I think with the construction of those courts, we’ll be able to bring in some tournaments because we will have the courts big enough to have tournament play. We don’t have anything like that in the area.”
If granted, the City of Escanaba would match $100,000 of the MNRTF funds.
Peterson says the Recreation Department will also apply for a $700,000 – $800,000 grant through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program in April. The City of Escanaba would match $100,000 of that amount.
That project would include building the eight pickleball courts, resurfacing four tennis courts, completely reconstructing the basketball court, and updating playground equipment.
“At most of the facilities in Escanaba, the parks need to be updated–the playground equipment,” Peterson said. “We thought we might as well go big and do the whole project.”
If granted the MNRTF grant, the City of Escanaba Recreation Department will be notified in the fall. If the CDBG funding is granted, the City will be notified this summer. Work would likely begin on the Royce Park projects in 2024.
