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Denver pausing Civic Center Station pickleball court project, exploring alternative options for site

By December 5, 2025 | updated 1 month ago

A photo of the gravel pit between Civic Center Station and Colfax Avenue where Denver proposed a pickleball court development, taken on Aug. 1, 2025. (Stephen Barr / The Denver Gazette)

A proposed pickleball court development at the gravel pit next to Denver’s Civic Center Station is on hold due to budgetary restrictions, city officials confirmed Friday.

The project, slated to cost between $3 million and $4 million, has yet to get past the initial planning stages and does not have a hard timeline, despite the filing of concept plans for the development last year, a spokesperson for Mayor Mike Johnston’s office said Friday.

Now, budget restrictions have led city officials to pause work on the project entirely and explore alternative options for the site, the official said. The spokesperson could not say what those alternatives are, as officials are still in the early stages of the planning process.

A site plan showing several pickleball courts
A rendering of the conceptual site plan for the proposed pickleball court development in between Civic Center Station and Colfax Avenue in downtown Denver. (Courtesy, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s Office)

Proposed to lay on the gravel pit that currently sits between the downtown bus station and Colfax Avenue, the site plan showed six outdoor asphalt pickleball courts surrounded by a fence and illuminated by overhead lighting, according to planning documents provided by the city. The plan also listed several security features, including cameras and a padlocked entrance gate, that would control access to the area.

The plan also illustrated a shade canopy, outdoor seating and a ping pong table on a concrete base between the courts and Colfax Avenue. South of the courts, the existing storm water drainage site would remain in place, though surrounded by several new trees.

The project would have been another of several ongoing developments around Civic Center Park, including the re-orientation of the park’s Greek Theater and the construction of the Regional Transportation District’s Colfax Avenue Bus Rapid Transit System.

Michael Braithwaite

Reporter

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