Big City Pickle - Lincoln Yards

For awhile I enjoyed coming here to play pickleball until they cancelled my group’s reservation twice without a legitimate reason. The website states that it may be cancelled if fewer than three people are signed up two hours before the time or if the weather is bad. However, both times our group had 6 or more people signed up and weather was not an issue. We called the first time to ask why, and the employee could not even give us a real reason, and we knew we had caught them in a lie. The second time they didn’t even pick up the phone. Unreliable and not worth booking when there’s so many free courts in Chicago where you won’t have to deal with this.

I often play soccer for free* at the Fleet Fields complex next door to these courts and notice that they are always basically empty. Today was no different so I went up to go play a quick round there with my wife. Upon walking up, the attendant asked if we had a reservation, to which we looked around on the empty court, the sound of crickets in the air, and responded, "no?" She then said we needed to "go to the website to make a reservation online", and then we could play. Fair enough. So, then as a tumbleweed passed by on the empty courts I proceeded to make a reservation only to discover it was going to cost $50 an hour! I now see why no one ever uses this space. $5 - $10? Sure. If you must make your bag. But, $50 feels asinine. This isn't some large, covered complex with staff. It looks like it used to be a public park space with a porta potty. Get real. Privatizing public space is one thing, but then price gouging the community to use it is lame and not neighborly.

This open play is nothing like described. It was unorganized, there were no instructions, the girl working the desk could not have cared less. We walked up and everybody there just kept playing, there is no way to stack your paddle or line up to rotate. This wasn’t worth $5, much less $18. Please please go to open play somewhere else where they actually have an open play, as opposed to just open courts and a free for all nonsense. Highly disappointed. Also - They have no water, one stinky porta potty.

While the courts are new and beautiful, it’s wildly overpriced at $50/hr for a court when booking online for just 2 people. Courts are largely empty all day every day.

I’m very disappointed with our recent experience at Big City Pickleball in Lincoln Yards. Our group of twelve arrived ready to play and enjoy the evening, but despite all the courts being empty and the posted closing time being 10pm, the staff member on duty refused to let us play at all, citing that we didn’t have a reservation. Shutting us out completely when the courts were unused felt unreasonable and unfair, especially after we had put effort into organizing the outing. This lack of flexibility and consideration ruined what was supposed to be a fun evening. I hope management addresses this policy and ensures better customer service in the future.