Arlington Vows Action On Pickleball Noise Concerns After Stephen Colbert Segment

ARLINGTON, VA — The Arlington County Board vowed to take action on the “The great Pickleball War” of Arlington after comedian Stephen Colbert highlighted the debate on a recent episode of his late-night talk show.

At Saturday’s board meeting, Board Chair Christian Dorsey acknowledged that the pickleball noise problems at the Walter Reed Community Center and Park have been the “subject of lots of media coverage, including Stephen Colbert.”

Dorsey emphasized that contrary to what many Arlington residents might think, the county is seriously considering the concerns of local residents about the noise from pickleball games at local courts.

“This is the subject of intense analysis, conversation and policy development within the county,” Dorsey said.

At the county board’s April meeting, County Manager Mark Schwartz is expected to present an update on how the county is handling the pickleball issue and outline ways to move forward that will be acceptable to both pickleball players and residents who live near pickleball courts, Dorsey said.

In his March 7 segment on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” the comedian noted that residents near the Walter Reed Community Center have been distributing flyers that accused pickleball players of “hijacking” tennis and basketball courts, bullying children and urinating in public.

“Come on, seniors,” Colbert joked, “pickleball is not an excuse to urinate in public. That’s aquarobics.”

Earlier this year, the Arlington Department of Parks and Recreation sent out a survey, asking the local community to provide input and feedback on new outdoor pickleball courts coming to the Walter Reed Community Center at 2909 16th Street South. The dedicated courts would replace the tennis courts that are currently there.

During the public comment period at Saturday’s board meeting, Chad Seonarian, a resident of the Columbia Heights neighborhood near the courts, explained the mental health impact that the constant pickleball noise has on residents.

People who live on S. Walter Reed Drive and 16th Street South “are bombarded with a constant high-pitched noise – ping, ping, ping — for seven days a week, 15 hours a day,” he said.

Seonarian, who has a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, said it is extremely hard to put her to bed at 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. with the constant noise. “We can’t even use our backyards because the noise is constant. It’s every day,” he added.

Armand Ciccarelli, a member of the Columbia Heights Civic Association, said the association met with the Department of Parks and Recreation on Feb. 16 and Feb. 22 to express their concerns about the pickleball noise.

But Ciccarelli said DPR told community members that the planned pickleball facility at the Walter Reed Community Center is moving forward.

The planned courts need to be put on hold, Ciccarelli stated, and the county needs to consider spreading the courts around the county, where the noise impact may not be as severe for local residents.

Tim Dellinger, a leader of Arlington Pickleball Club, acknowledged at Saturday's county board meeting that “sparks have been flying between neighbors and pickleball” players, especially around putting the flagship pickleball facility at the Walter Reed Community Center.

A joint task force was formed between the pickleball club and the Columbia Heights Civic Association to find common ground on the issue, with little success, he said.

Dellinger urged the county board to step in and work with DPR to provide other pickleball court options.

Seonarian suggested that Arlington County follow the lead of the Town of Vienna, which voted in January to limit pickleball from seven to three days a week at the town’s popular courts in Glyndon Park.

Pickleball play is now limited at the Vienna courts to Monday and Wednesday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on the other four days, courts are available for tennis.

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