As of this weekend, Copper Sky is close to finishing a court buildout that the City of Maricopa first showed in a site plan last December. The six new outdoor pickleball courts and the relocated sand volleyball courts were announced as ready for play on September 10. The Fieldhouse at Copper Sky held its free grand opening this morning, October 10, at 17985 Greythorn Drive.
Put those together and you get the number InMaricopa reported in May: 30 pickleball courts at Copper Sky once both projects are done. Twelve of the 30 are in the Fieldhouse, though, and that building isn't a pickleball hall. It's one big floor that can be set up for several sports. How often that floor is in pickleball mode will decide how much of the new capacity you get to use.
The count, before and after
Here's how the court inventory changed, using the figures the city and InMaricopa published this year.
| Location | Before 2026 | After the buildout | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outdoor pickleball courts | 6 | 12 | Six new courts built in the old sand volleyball area |
| Indoor courts, Copper Sky gymnasium | 6 | 6 | No change |
| Indoor courts, the Fieldhouse | 0 | Up to 12 | Only when the floor is set up for pickleball |
| Total pickleball capacity | 12 | Up to 30 |
The outdoor half of the project is simple: six more permanent courts sit beside the original six. Construction started May 11, and the city budgeted $800,000 for design and construction as part of Copper Sky's capital improvement plan. To make room, the sand volleyball courts moved slightly north, so they now sit between the new pickleball courts and the existing basketball courts.
The indoor half is where the total starts to depend on the schedule.
Thirty is a ceiling set by one floor
The city's own Fieldhouse page describes its capacity as four full-size basketball courts, or six volleyball courts, or 12 pickleball courts. That "or" matters. These are different layouts for the same floor, and they can't all run at once.
So the indoor pickleball count at Copper Sky changes from hour to hour. When the Fieldhouse is set up for pickleball, the complex has 18 indoor courts. When it's set up for basketball or volleyball, indoor pickleball drops back to the six courts in the gymnasium, which is what Maricopa had before the building opened. The only number that holds every day is the 12 outdoor courts.
The floor already has other demands on it. The city's ActiveNet listings include a Fall 2026 youth volleyball volunteer coach application tied to the Fieldhouse, with activity dates from October 20 through December 19, 2026. That's a coach listing, not a published league schedule, but it shows the building will carry youth volleyball this fall. The city also describes the Fieldhouse as a venue for leagues, tournaments, and daily recreation.
The building is larger than its exterior suggests. The city remodeled and expanded the former police substation just south of the main Copper Sky entrance into a 44,088-square-foot facility. The 2025 construction announcement describes 33,235 square feet added to 10,853 square feet of existing space. It also lists a 1,680-square-foot lounge and tournament hub and a 971-square-foot assembly room. A tournament hub and an assembly room point to a building planned for organized events as well as open play.
Why the city built indoors
The city chose to put most of the new capacity under a roof, and it has said why.
The first reason is demand. According to InMaricopa, Maricopa's first official pickleball league started in October 2024, and city budget documents said six outdoor courts weren't enough for both organized play and drop-in use. When the city announced the outdoor expansion, Parks and Recreation Director Rocky Brown put it this way:
"Demand for pickleball has grown rapidly, and we want to stay ahead of it. These new courts will give players of all levels more opportunities to get out and play."
The second reason is space. PinalCentral reported that Maricopa had long relied on its partnership with Maricopa Unified School District for land, facilities, and public recreation. As the population grew, demand outran what the district could provide, and the City Council approved a fieldhouse built for the purpose.
The third reason is heat. The city describes the Fieldhouse as indoor, air-conditioned space meant to get around the limits summer heat puts on play. That explains why the 12 outdoor courts are only part of the plan. Those courts are most useful in the cooler months, and the indoor courts are meant for the rest of the year.
That's also why the scheduling question matters more than the court count. In summer, the new indoor courts will be the main place to play, and they'll be shared with basketball, volleyball, and whatever leagues the city books.
The opening took longer than first projected
The Fieldhouse arrived later than earlier estimates. In June 2025, the city expected construction to wrap up in late summer 2026. InMaricopa reported in December 2025 that the building was expected to open to the public in July 2026. The grand opening ended up on October 10. None of the sources reviewed explain the gap. The practical effect is that the building opened at the start of outdoor-play season, not in the middle of summer.
Today's opening program included basketball, volleyball, and pickleball on the new floor, plus arts and crafts, an inflatable play area, food trucks, and a show by Phoenix Championship Wrestling. The outdoor courts got their own launch week. The city scheduled a ribbon cutting and an 80s-themed "New Courts on the Block" party with a pickleball round robin for Tuesday, September 22, and a Discover Pickleball morning for beginners on Saturday, September 26.
What the city hasn't posted yet
As of October 10, several of the details a regular player needs haven't been published:
- Fieldhouse hours. None of the city pages reviewed list hours for the Fieldhouse itself.
- Open-play schedule. The most recent drop-in gym schedule we found on the city site covers August 1 to 31 and doesn't print a year. It lists indoor pickleball in the gymnasium Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 5:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to noon. Nothing on it mentions the Fieldhouse, so treat those times as a starting point to confirm.
- Fees and memberships. The Copper Sky membership page lists drop-in volleyball and basketball as a Copper membership benefit, but it doesn't say whether that covers the Fieldhouse. The rate chart shown there is labeled 2023.
- Court reservations. The city's ActiveNet reservation page lists ramadas, fields, and a Copper Sky room, but no pickleball courts you can reserve. A search for "pickleball" in the city's activity listings returned no results.
- Building hours. Two city pages give different hours for Copper Sky. The main Copper Sky page lists 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays, 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, and 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. The Facility and Field Reservations page lists 5 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., and 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The gap is about half an hour at closing each day.
How to find a court this month
Until the city posts a Fieldhouse schedule, these steps will save you a wasted trip:
- Start outdoors. The 12 outdoor courts are the only Copper Sky courts set up for pickleball all the time, and October weather suits them.
- Call the front desk before going to the Fieldhouse. Ask how the floor is set up during the hours you want to play, especially on weekday evenings after youth volleyball begins October 20.
- Ask whether your membership covers the Fieldhouse. The published membership language mentions drop-in basketball and volleyball, not the new building.
- Check the Fieldhouse page and the city's ActiveNet listings for an updated drop-in schedule and any fall league registration.
- Count Pacana Park courts in person. Public court directories disagree on how many pickleball courts Pacana Park has, listing four or two, and one says players bring their own nets there. The park will also be busy October 23 to 25 during Stagecoach Days' Party at Pacana. Entry and parking are free all three days, and Salsa Fest is on Saturday, October 24.
If you're thinking about how close you'd like to live to Copper Sky, Pacana Park, or the parks and courts you use every week, Eddie Villalobos and the team can walk you through Maricopa's neighborhoods in English or Spanish, starting with the drive to your usual courts. Start Your Property Search.
