The county fieldhouse on Ryan Road: weekday open play, how the pickleball courts are split, the rules, rentals and what is nearby.
From October to April, the Milwaukee County Sports Complex on Ryan Road opens its fieldhouse for weekday-morning pickleball, volleyball, basketball and soccer. The fieldhouse covers 55,000 square feet, and outside it the county keeps fields for rugby, football, lacrosse and soccer. The address is 6000 W. Ryan Road, Franklin, WI 53132.
It is two places in one: a cheap drop-in gym for half the year, and a rental venue the rest of the time.
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Open play: when, what and how much
Open play is the public's way in, and it runs on weekday mornings in the colder months. The county's page lists open gym from October 13 through April 16, Tuesday through Friday, 8 a.m. to noon; confirm the season dates with the county before you go. A one-day pass is $4 per person, and a rolling 30-day membership is $30 per person.
Do the math before you buy the monthly pass. At $4 a visit, the $30 rolling membership pays for itself on the eighth morning in a 30-day stretch.
How the pickleball courts are split
Pickleball gets three of the fieldhouse's four quadrants, divided by skill. Quadrant 1 is for players rated 2.5 and below, with four nets; Quadrant 2 is for 3.0 to 3.5, also with four nets; and Quadrant 3 is for 4.0 and up, with two nets. Quadrant 4 is kept for basketball and soccer.
Be honest about your level. Quadrants 1 and 2 hold eight of the ten pickleball nets, so newer and middle-level players get most of the room.
Rules to know before you walk in
The open-gym rules are short. Courts are first come, first served, adults must supervise children, and no new games start in the last 10 minutes of the session. The county also notes that the fieldhouse has no air conditioning, which matters on a warm October morning or in April.
Parking is free, the building is wheelchair accessible, and there are concessions, restrooms, showers and changing rooms. The listing phone number is 414-281-2694.
Making a morning of open gym
Plan the morning around the clock. Open play starts at 8 a.m. and ends at noon, and because no new game starts in the last 10 minutes, the last one has to begin before 11:50 a.m. Courts are first come, first served, so the start of the session is the time to arrive if you want one without waiting.
Pack for a gym with no cooling. Bring water, your own paddle and balls, and a layer you can take off, since the fieldhouse has no air conditioning. Children are welcome on the courts, but an adult has to supervise them, so open gym works for a parent and a teenager on a school holiday.
The showers and changing rooms the county lists with its rentals make it easy to play before work.
Renting courts, fields and the stadium
Outside open-play hours, the complex is rented by the court or the field. The county lists the fieldhouse for rent year-round from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., with a batting cage, one regulation or two practice basketball courts, four five-a-side soccer quadrants, up to four volleyball courts and a conference room.
Outdoors there is a stadium field with bleachers, available in daylight or under lights, plus two multi-use fields on the south side and two on the north. Rentals include tables and chairs, restrooms, showers, changing rooms and concessions. The county does not post a rate sheet on that page, so ask Milwaukee County Parks for a quote before you plan a tournament around it.
Events at the complex
Because the fieldhouse rents for large events, large rentals can take the courts. The county describes it as available for large-scale events and exhibitions, and lists sports tournaments, concerts, trade shows and dog shows as examples.
Before driving over for open play, confirm that a tournament has not taken the courts that morning.
Not to be confused with The Rock
Franklin has two places with "sports complex" in the name, and they are not the same. The Milwaukee County Sports Complex is the county fieldhouse on Ryan Road; The Rock Sports Complex is part of the Ballpark Commons development near South 76th Street and Rawson Avenue, alongside Franklin Field and Luxe Golf Bays.
If your group wants hitting bays and dinner rather than a gym, Luxe Golf Bays is about 3 miles northwest of the county complex.
Pickleball and golf nearby
More pickleball courts sit at Vernon Barg Park, about 0.2 miles east of Lions Legend, so you can walk between the two if one set is full.
Indoor courts arranged by play level, with lessons, are what Premier Pickleball Club in South Milwaukee offers when the county's hours do not fit, about 7.4 miles northeast.
A farm down Ryan Road
The farm Hunger Task Force runs on South 68th Street is about 0.6 miles from the complex, and it grows food for families in need on 208 acres. Volunteering at the farm runs from May through October, which makes a summer shift a good counterweight to a winter of open gym.
Outdoor courts, trails and heated pavilions fill Franklin's parks in the warm months.
A day out in Franklin can stretch from Wehr's trails to a ballpark.
Frequently asked questions
Published September 14, 2026
