Lincoln pickleball court gets $25,000 grant for solar-powered lights

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — A Lincoln pickleball group received a $25,000 grant from AARP to install solar-powered lights at Peterson Park.

“We have about six weeks in the spring and six weeks in the fall where the weather is still nice, but we’re losing out on daylight hours,” said Joel Houston, president of Pickleball Lincoln.

The nonprofit applied for the grant last year but was initially denied.

And then, out of the blue, Houston got a call from AARP saying money had been set aside for the lights.

AARP is also hosting the Toss and Spin Tour in 25 cities this year, including Lincoln.

The tour is geared toward teaching retired people how to play pickleball and is free to AARP members.

“It’s a great way to keep retired people active,” Houston said of the game. “We’ve seen it really make a lot of improvement in people’s lives locally.”

The Lincoln Parks and Recreation Department looked at installing lighting hooked up to the main power grid but ultimately decided it would be more expensive than solar.

“This is a really difficult area to get electricity into, so it’s a great opportunity to test the solar lighting, and the city is excited about it,” Houston said.

The lights are expected to be installed by the end of the year and ready for the spring season.

Houston said other courts around Lincoln could benefit from the lighting as well.