The pop of pickleball won’t be heard anytime soon at the Civic Center Station gravel pit.
In recent years, city bigwigs were deep in talks about curbing crime in downtown Denver by installing courts at the pit on Colfax and Broadway.
Neighbors had been griping about crime in the area. Police were inundated with emergency calls. And over the years, encampments have come and gone.
Evan Dreyer, Mayor Mike Johnston’s deputy chief of staff, led the charge in finding a gravel pit fix as part of larger talks about remodeling Civic Center Park and the Greek Amphitheater.
The mayor’s office, the Downtown Denver Partnership, Councilmember Chris Hinds and the Civic Center Conservancy were all part of the talks. They considered a food truck court, an urban garden, basketball or tennis courts, a skatepark, even a cycle track.
At the end of the talks, pickleball proved most popular. City brass started hammering out the idea.
But it’s been a rough year. Over the summer, the city saw mass layoffs and position eliminations, and officials are looking at a tight 2026 budget to make up a $200 million shortfall.
So, the dream of pickleball at the gravel pit is dead — or at least stalled.
“Due to budget restrictions, we have paused the pickleball plan,” Mayor Mike Johnston’s spokesperson Jon Ewing wrote in a statement. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with RTD and others and are exploring alternative options to activate this property in the future.”
Meanwhile, the Greek Amphitheater and Civic Center Park remodels are still on track.
