FARGO — A crowd of fitness fans approached elected Fargo Park Board members with concerns about Courts Plus, a community fitness center at 3491 University Drive S.
This building has fallen into disrepair, and recent changes have impacted visitors’ enjoyment of the space, several regular Courts Plus users told park officials during their meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 9.
Courts Plus is owned and operated by the Fargo Park District.
One frequent tennis player, JoAnn Bakken, said the changes to the tennis programming at Courts Plus caused her to quit playing.
“This is the first Tuesday night in 20 years that I’m not playing tennis,” she said. “They (Courts Plus) have kind of messed up all the things we used to do.”
A flurry of recent changes impacted members of the tennis community, she said, including limiting how many players can participate at a time, switching up the time the tennis courts are available and more space and court time to pickleball players.
Limiting the number of tennis players forces matches between players of vastly different skill levels, she said.
“It’s not fun anymore,” she said. “When you’re playing against somebody that’s so hard (to compete with) or somebody that doesn’t know the game, it’s not fun. It doesn’t make it entertaining.”
Bakken said she enjoys playing pickleball, too, but having to constantly fight for space at Courts Plus for tennis is exhausting.
Fargo resident Amy Phillips is a regular visitor to Courts Plus. She uses the walking track, works out on the exercise machines and plays both tennis and pickleball.
“I’ve been increasingly concerned about the condition of the facility,” she told park officials.
The overall condition of Courts Plus is poor, she said, with inadequate air conditioning leading to “extremely” difficult conditions.
“It was so hot and humid in there that I was actually concerned for the health of some of the individuals playing,” Phillips said.
There is damage throughout the building, Phillips said, and the exercise equipment isn’t kept in proper working condition.
As an older pickleball player, Fargo resident Daniel Rice said he is also concerned about the health of his fellow players.
“I’m afraid somebody is going to have a heart attack in that facility because it’s just unbearably hot and humid in there,” Rice said.
The users of Courts Plus expect better conditions for the money they pay to use it, Rice said, costs which are compounded through property taxes to the Park District, a monthly membership fee for Courts Plus and regular fees to use the tennis and pickleball courts.
“We were calculating our past expenditures at Courts Plus, and it’s a little over $1,000 a year,” he said. “That’s playing pickleball a couple of times a week. That’s a lot.”
He keeps coming back because of the “incredible” and “very friendly” staff at Courts Plus, Rice said, but warned that improvements to the facility are necessary to prevent it from falling into disrepair.
“I hope there is something in the budget to do some upgrading at that facility,” Rice said.
A representative of the Fargo Park District told The Forum that park leadership arranged a sit-down meeting with concerned Courts Plus users in the coming weeks.
“The purpose of these meetings is to listen, gather information and determine the best way forward,” park officials told The Forum. “We are committed to working together toward solutions that best serve our community and Courts Plus members, while also balancing needs with available resources and budget considerations.”
Fargo Parks plans to update the community following those meetings, they said.
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