Bill
HB 249
Funds a Wake County pilot to increase pickleball diversity by testing outreach, branding, and four-week sessions, plus a replication toolkit for NC parks.
Status
- Introduced and read first time: February 27, 2025 (House)
- Referred to committee (Ways & Means / Appropriations as recorded)
- Effective date provided in bill text: July 1, 2025 (program timeline begins FY2025–26)
- Fiscal action: single, nonrecurring appropriation (see Fiscal section)
Purpose / Intent
- To fund a small pilot program based in Wake County that seeks to increase racial and ethnic diversity among pickleball participants by testing recruitment, branding, outreach, programming, and evaluation strategies that can be replicated by parks, recreation departments, and community organizations across the state.
Key provisions
- Appropriation: Nonrecurring $10,112 from the General Fund to the UNC Board of Governors for allocation to the Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management, College of Natural Resources, North Carolina State University (NCSU) for FY2025–26.
- Program components (required):
1. At least two focus groups with people of color to inform program design and outreach.
2. Creation of a branded program identity (name, logo) and physical/digital marketing materials.
3. Coordinated marketing with community partners using websites, social media, direct email, event days, and demonstrations.
4. Delivery of a four-week session in fall 2025 and a four-week session in spring 2026 at Method Road and Chavis recreation centers (Raleigh).
5. Post-program evaluation and development of a toolkit for replication by parks & recreation departments and community organizations statewide.
- Funds do not revert and remain available to the Department for the stated purpose.
Who would be affected
- Direct recipients: NCSU’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management (program implementer).
- Target populations: Wake County residents, with emphasis on recruiting people of color and underrepresented groups in pickleball participation; also intended to serve older adults and facilitate intergenerational participation.
- Indirect beneficiaries: Local parks and recreation agencies, community partners, and other North Carolina localities that could use the toolkit to replicate the program.
Fiscal impact / Timeline
- One-time (nonrecurring) General Fund appropriation: $10,112 for 2025–2026.
- Program activity scheduled for fall 2025 and spring 2026; evaluation and toolkit development to follow the sessions.
- Funds are designated to remain available for the stated purposes (do not revert).
Potential policy impact
- Tests low-cost strategies to broaden participation in a rapidly growing community sport.
- Produces an evidence-informed toolkit for scalable outreach and programming that could be adopted by municipal parks and recreation departments statewide.
- Modest budgetary outlay limits fiscal exposure while enabling a proof-of-concept intervention.
Source
- Bill text (House draft), General Assembly of North Carolina — HB 249 (2025), appropriation and program language as above.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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