If you’re traveling to the Big Apple, you may wonder where you can play pickleball in New York City. Earlier in 2022, four pickleball courts were added to Brooklyn Bridge Park in Dumbo. Here’s what you need to know about getting there and what to expect.
How To Get To Brooklyn Bridge Park Pickleball Courts
If you’re looking at google maps, you don’t want to type in Brooklyn Bridge Park. Make sure you type in Pier 2 Pickleball Courts. If you’re taking the train, whether you’re coming from east or Manhattan, you will want to take the C line until High St. It will be a beautiful 15-minute walk down to the Pier where there will be a walking trail and a sports complex.
You will see areas separated by sports like ping pong, basketball, and a weight training station. There are four pickleball courts available. As long as there are not enough people out there, you can use any court. Around four to five in the afternoon, people will start showing up for open play.
Pickleball Open Play At The Brooklyn Bridge Park
Depending on how many people are present, the locals use different versions of open play. If there is not a long wait, they use “winners stay on” where the two winners will face a new pair. If there is a longer wait, it will be four on, four off. The locals are there to explain the rules and there is usually one person leading open play.
They also use losers and winner stacks to make more competitive matches. So if you lose your match, you will queue up in the losers’ stack against other losers. And if you win, you can match up against other winners. Since pickleball can bring out a wide variety of abilities, it is a great system of rotation to make sure everyone is having a good amount of competition at the level that they’re in.
On Thursday nights, there is usually a challenge court at one of the courts. It is meant for more advanced pickleball players. There is a separate stack for the challenge court so you don’t have to participate if you do not want to. You can queue up to play at the other three courts.
Keep in mind that if you’re coming from popular pickleball states such as Arizona, Florida, or Utah, the level of “advanced” in your state or area will be different when you’re traveling. Cities like New York City do not yet have the availability of pickleball courts that you may be used to. Therefore, the local talent may not be as abundant or advanced as the way you define it.
Brooklyn Bridge Park Review
The view is undoubtedly phenomenal. You will be playing by the waters, seeing Manhattan in the background. At night, you see the lights of the city. The walk towards the park through the Posh Dumbo neighborhood is a treat in itself. There are water fountains and very clean bathrooms at the site.
While the location, amenities, and view are amazing, the court surface is concrete. It is not the regular hard court tennis surface that you may be used to. You will find the bounce of the pickleball and spin to be slightly different. And because the courts are so close to the bridge, it will be windy almost at all times. A little wind is manageable but it can get very windy there.
If you’re an advanced player with a rating of 4.5 or above, you will most likely not see local competition. Most of the players that regularly show up are beginners to a little over 4.0. For competitive play, you may have to look for a match on Facebook groups to meet advanced players.
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