Lake Wales wants to spend $400,000 on pickleball courts.
Watch the quick breakdown below, or keep scrolling for the details.
| What to Eat. Where to Go. (@polksqueeze)The Lake Wales City Commission approved applying for a $200,000 state grant on Oct. 20.
The city would match it with $200,000 of its own.
What's in the plan
The $400,000 would pay for four new pickleball courts with lighting at Crystal Lake Park.
Most of the money goes to pickleball: $200,000 for the courts and $149,600 for the lights.
The rest covers a new sidewalk ($24,960), playground equipment ($23,240) and a picnic table ($2,200).
The money would come from the Florida Recreation Development Assistance Program, a state grant run by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
It's also where the city broke ground Oct. 20 on a 3,200-foot trail that will loop around Crystal Lake.
What's there now
Lake Wales already has pickleball, sort of.
The city painted pickleball lines on three of the Lake Wales Tennis Courts next to Crystal Lake Park, which makes room for six pickleball courts.
But players share those courts with tennis, and they have to bring their own nets.
The grant would pay for dedicated pickleball courts with their own lighting.
What's next
This is a grant request, not a done deal.
The program is competitive, so the courts only happen if the state awards Lake Wales the money.
It's also a reimbursement grant, which means the city pays first and the state pays it back.
So, where's the best place to play pickleball in Polk right now?
We found this in the City of Lake Wales commission minutes.
Have a tip about something happening in Polk County? Email us at [email protected]
Sources: Lake Wales City Commission minutes, Oct. 20, 2026; City of Lake Wales, Adult Activities
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