Plans to rebuild Wichita State’s pickleball courts are up in the air after the Student Government Association voted against providing $137,000 to help with the project.
After students raised concerns about the courts’ proposed new location in August, plans were made to change the area in order to preserve trees.
But the new plan created extra costs, Scott Jensen, assistant vice president of Student Affairs Operations, said at Wednesday night’s SGA meeting.
Jensen said the change to the proposed location led to the additional cost, in part due to the need to remove a statue located in the potential area, between Lindquist Hall, Heskett Center and Hubbard Hall.
The courts were previously located next to Wilkins Stadium and the Heskett Center, and were moved due to renovations to the stadium and the addition of a practice facility.
Jensen said in an email that the cost to move the sculpture is $33,000. The construction bid was about $33,000 more than the $300,000 budget for the project and the additional costs come from fees and permitting as a an extra contingency fund, meaning that money must be set aside in case any unexpected costs come up during the project.
When asked if Student Affairs and Campus Recreation had a “backup plan,” to secure funding from a different source, Jensen said they did not.
“The backup plan could be either the pickleball courts don’t exist, or that we look for other areas to try and gain funding from,” he said. “But right now, there is not a plan B in this one because the funds allocated from Student Affairs pretty much exhausted their ability to continue to contribute.”
Jensen said that Campus Recreation could not provide any additional funding either.
After the meeting, he said he would discuss other options with Vice President for Student Affairs Teri Hall.
“I think the pickleball courts are really important,” Jensen said. “I think the administration knows they’re important, and so we just have to figure it out.”
Student Senate concerns
Sen. Kian Williams opposed the bill, raising concerns that the Student Government was being asked for funding because senators were involved in the push to change the proposed location.
“Our job here is to speak on behalf of students and make sure that their voices are heard, not to be the financial backbone of the university,” Williams said. “If we are asking the university to prioritize student interests during major changes on our campus, why is that our obligation to financially support? Why is it not the university’s moral and professional duty to act in the best interests of the student body?”
Sen. Gavin Barnes said he was in favor of approving the funding, citing the popularity of the pickleball courts.
“Last year, I went to the pickleball (courts) nearly every single day, and I probably had to wait for about a half an hour to 45 minutes each time I wanted to play pickleball,” Barnes said. “Our student body is very favorable (to) pickleball. They enjoy it.”
Alternate locations
Adult Learners Senator Cynthia Pizzini questioned whether a different location could be considered to bring down the cost.
“I just think that it would be easier and more feasible to just keep looking for an alternate location instead of looking for more funding,” she said.
Jensen said that the location was chosen due to its proximity to the Heskett Center, where students can borrow equipment.
The area was also slated for pickleball courts in the campus master plan, although the Heskett Center will be demolished eventually.
Sen. Andrew Bobbitt suggested a possible location.
“We currently have a perfectly lovely vacant lot in between the YMCA, the dorms down there (The Suites and The Flats) and Woolsey Hall that, in the master plan, is slated to become a parking lot,” he said. “It sits next to the future home of Campus Recreation. I believe that would be an excellent alternative site.”
The Senate voted against providing the $137,000 with five “yes” votes, 17 “no” votes and five abstentions.
