Behind Claxton Field on Central Avenue, the ground drops into an old quarry. There is a stone wall on one side, and bedrock sits only a little below the surface. The town plans to put its first skate park there. Needham has never had one, and it has never had courts built just for pickleball either, according to the town's 2025 Town Meeting FAQ. Both projects are now in final design, and both are being shaped by what lies under the field. Residents asked for these facilities. The quarry rock and the old burn dump next to it are deciding how much of that request can be built, and how.
Claxton beat three other fields
This started with requests. The Park and Recreation Department made these projects a priority after years of requests from residents, the Observer reported. The 2023 Annual Town Meeting then approved $35,000 for a feasibility study, which CHA Solutions carried out. The study also looked at Mills Field, Cricket Field and the Hillside School Field. Claxton was picked in October 2024.
The plan splits the site in two. The skate park goes in and around the Claxton Quarry. The pickleball courts go next to the parking lot along Central Avenue. In May 2025, Town Meeting approved $300,000 in Community Preservation funds for design. The town hired Weston & Sampson and Pillar Design Studios, and Park and Rec held three community meetings with them in 2026. The latest was on Sept. 24, as the Needham Observer reported. The design plans from that meeting are on the town's site.
The quarry sets the skate park's shape
The designers had to work around shallow bedrock and the quarry wall, and they had to follow stormwater rules on both sites. The current design is a wide back-and-forth flow with roomy transitions, so skaters and bikers can share it. It also has accessible parking and ramps. The designer told the Observer that the setting is new even to him:
"In my 25 years and 500-plus parks, I've never built on a rock quarry. So this is going to be a really cool setting for a skate park."
Brad Siedlecki, principal skate park designer, speaking to the Needham Observer
Siedlecki also told the Observer that the team wanted something different from what nearby towns already have, without "trying to cram too much stuff into one space." His design walk-through named these possible features:
- Capped granite ledges and steel ledges
- Banked curves and flat banks
- Manual pads, a fun box and flat bars
- Quarter pipes
- Brick texture
Even the bike features had limits. Residents wanted a park that worked better for bikes, so the team added drop-offs. Siedlecki said the park still had to work for skaters, and that limited what else could go in. A pump track was in the first designs. It has been set aside for possible future consideration.
The old burn dump sets the court count
The pickleball side is tighter still. A town FAQ describes Claxton as an old open burn dump that was informally covered and turned into playing fields in the 1960s. A 2022 Weston & Sampson environmental memo found ash and solid waste under the topsoil, including glass, metal, ceramic and wood.
That history limits the number of courts. According to the Observer, the design allows five post-tension concrete courts because of four constraints: a wetland buffer, contaminated soil and the geotextile barrier that caps the old burn dump, solid waste under the existing parking lot, and tree plantings. The parking lot along Central Avenue would also be expanded.
Resident feedback added a lot of detail. Neighbors raised concerns about noise, lighting and upkeep, so the team ran a sound study. The site will also be wired for lights that could be paid for and installed in a later phase. People asked for taller fencing between the courts and the softball field, so the plan now shows a fence of 12 to 14 feet on the field side and 10 feet on the other sides. Shade structures, accessible seating and trash cans were added near the skate park, and water-filling stations near both facilities. At the September meeting, residents asked for shade by the courts too. They also asked the designers to account for wind on the site, and to choose contractors qualified for this kind of work.
"We're excited about where we're landing," Cassie Bethoney of Weston & Sampson told the Observer. She added that "this is not the last time you can have a say."
Until then, pickleball lives at Mills Field
For now, Mills Field is where Needham plays. The Observer described it in July as home to "a large and thriving pickleball community." Players rotate off after each game to 11 so the next foursome can step on. Some players use a scheduling system that the town doesn't run. Many others just show up and join in, resident Jennifer Meyerhardt told the paper.
Mills Field shares a badge system with the town's tennis courts. A 2026 tennis badge costs $23 for seniors, $55 for individuals and $70 for families. The town's 2026 court badge page lists public courts at Mills Field and Newman School. It also says the Needham High School courts are for tennis only, and pickleball is not allowed there. That covers all eight of the new courts at the high school. Five courts built just for pickleball at Claxton would be the first in town. The site's limits are why the number is five.
The calendar runs through one Town Meeting
Design is close to done. Construction is not funded yet. Here is the schedule the town has described, and none of it after design is guaranteed:
| Step | Target |
|---|---|
| Final designs wrapped up | January or February 2027 |
| Construction funding request | May 2027 Town Meeting |
| Earliest construction start, if funded | July 2027 |
| Best-case completion | Fall 2027 |
| Later completion if contractor timelines slip | Spring or summer 2028 |
"I think it's a possibility that it could be done in the fall, but I wouldn't want to give a promise," Deputy Town Manager Liz LaRosee told the Needham Observer.
Memorial Park is on the same funding track
The Claxton projects are not the only field work waiting on May 2027. On Oct. 7, up to $75,000 was approved to design new turf for the baseball diamond at Memorial Park, Needham Local reported. The infield and dugouts would be turf, and the outfield would stay grass. Construction is estimated at $626,000. Needham Baseball and Softball has proposed contributing $325,000, subject to approvals. The town plans to seek construction funding in the FY28 capital budget and at the May 2027 Town Meeting.
LaRosee was just as careful there. "It's not a promise. It's a request for capital funds," she told Needham Local. So May 2027 will decide two things: whether Needham gets its first skate park and dedicated pickleball courts, and whether Memorial Park gets a turf infield.
If you have a skater in the house, or you play pickleball at Mills Field, you probably already have a view on what Needham's parks need next. Teri cares about the details of town life that make a place feel like home, and she's always happy to talk about where Needham is headed. If that conversation is useful to you, Teri Adler would be glad to hear from you. Let's Connect.
