Image courtesy of Matt Odom
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Call it the power of positive dinking: there are about 36.5 million pickleball players in the U.S., according to a study released in January 2023 by the Association of Pickleball Professionals. This obliterates previous estimates of the sport growing to 6-8 million players in 2022 based on previous years.
According to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association, pickleball has been the fastest-growing sport in America for the past three years, and participation has increased an average of 158.6 percent year over year. Moreover, the game isn’t just for seniors—players ages 18-34 comprise the most significant percentage of current pickleball players at 28.8 percent nation- wide. With such skyrocketing popularity and demand for facilities, it’s no wonder that more communities want to get in on the action.
There’s no doubt that pickleball can contribute to a community’s physical and financial health, so the question for many locales isn’t whether they should add pickleball to their program offerings, but how.
Image courtesy of Matt Odom
There are currently 10,724 pickleball courts in the country—clearly not enough to keep up with demand. “Pickleball is exploding, and it’s played in a lot of public facilities. There’s a court shortage, and municipalities want to build courts,” says Dan Santorum, president and CEO of the Professional Pickleball Registry (PPR). “Everyone is battling over courts. Right now, pickleball is encroaching on other courts such as tennis, volleyball, and basketball, so there is a need for more pickleball courts and facilities.”
However, building new courts, retrofitting existing ones, or even redeveloping spaces such as vacant malls isn’t an inexpensive proposition, so it’s important to understand the costs involved before committing to a project. Factors such as site development, location, amenities (lighting, seating, and fencing), construction, and materials are all part of the equation.
According to data from a recent project from The Sports Facilities Companies’ (SFC) development services arm, an outdoor venue with eight courts (four of which included shade structures), single-style benches, and lighting cost $701,000 or $87,625/court.
Funding can come from various sources, such as government bonds, taxes, grants, outside investments, and business partnerships. It’s also helpful to note that investment in pickleball courts and facilities, whether dedicated or mixed-use, has the potential to boost economic impact by attracting locals and visitors eager to play pickleball recreationally or competitively in tournaments. Once a pickleball venue is up and running, it can also help draw other businesses to the area, such as restaurants, hotels, retail, and other attractions.
Image courtesy of Macon Pickleball
Other options for communities without the budget to build new courts include using an existing tennis or sports court by setting up temporary netting and pickleball lines. According to information from SFC, a tennis court can accommodate four pickleball courts, and a basketball court can hold three to four courts. Utilizing these surfaces as a cost-effective method for meeting the demand is not uncommon. In a survey of sports venues within SFC’s SF Network that offer pickleball programming, 67 percent of venues use non-pickleball surfaces to play games.
Harvey Greenidge, general manager of Highlands Sports Complex (Triadelphia, West Virginia), operates one of those venues. His team added permanent lines to their basketball courts, accommodating up to 18 pickleball courts. They have open play several times per week, rent the courts to groups, and have recently started an adult league. He said that putting down permanent lines is not only easier on his staff (they aren’t constantly retaping lines), but it also meets surging demand for the sport in his area. “We could always add more capacity, and if we decide to resurface our courts, we’ll add more lines so that we can have more pickleball courts,” said Greenidge.
A great example of a community taking the plunge into pickleball is Macon, Georgia. Macon’s Tattnall Square Pickleball & Tennis Center, which has 26 courts and hosts large tournaments, is already one of the best pickleball facilities in the country. However, the Macon-Bibb County Urban Development Authority has worked to increase Macon’s capacity to host even more pickleball players with the conversion of the 1.1-million-square-foot Macon Mall into what is being billed as the world’s largest indoor pickleball facility. The new Rhythm & Rally Sports and Events features 32 dedicated courts, a pro shop, and concessions.
“The mall is a 75-acre tract in the middle of our community, which back in its heyday was the largest mall in the southeast United States. We were looking for a way to reimagine this particular area of our community that had become economically depressed, and [we were also] looking at 1 million square feet of blight if we didn’t do something about it,” says Lester Miller, mayor of Macon-Bibb County. “We negotiated a deal with Hull Property Group to work out a tax exchange where we got an appraisal on the property of what we were going to put into that property. They would get to give us half of the property after the first day, and over the next several years, we would receive the rest of the property. We could get any part of the property they didn’t exclusively keep for pretty much $1 a year.”
According to Alex Morrison, Macon-Bibb County’s director of Planning and Public Spaces, the city of Macon already hosted eight to 10 pickleball tournaments a year, and with a larger indoor facility, they can attract even more players. He went on to say, “We can have another eight to 10 (tournaments) a year that are each drawing 600 to 1,200 players who can comfortably play on our 32 indoor courts while also enjoying the other amenities—pickleball during the day and amphitheater concerts at night.”
Morrison anticipates that if the repurposed venue holds about 100 events annually at the amphitheater and has tournaments at the pickleball facility, the annual economic impact could total $100-125 million.
Image courtesy of Matt Odom
While pickleball certainly has a plethora of positives, one thing can drive those within earshot crazy: the constant pwock, pwock, pwock sounds emanating from nearby courts.
“Because of its growth, there’s been a huge gap in supply versus demand, so many parks and rec entities have exercised what they believe to be both their right and responsibility to serve the public and, in doing so, have been converting community parks and tennis courts that perhaps weren’t used before into pickleball courts,” explains Carl Schmits, USA Pickleball managing director of Facilities Development and Equipment Standards, told Community Playmaker. “The downside is that it could create an issue if it’s done without any expertise in an acoustic test or planning.”
To address the noise problem, USA Pickleball is working with various organizations to conduct multiple acoustic studies on equipment and materials while implementing incentive programs for manufacturers to develop quieter paddles and offering assistance to communities that want to build pickleball facilities. A proactive approach is encouraged, such as planning where courts will be located and, if they are near residential locations, what equipment or barriers can be implemented to lessen the noise.
The pickleball racket, so to speak, isn’t just limited to outdoor courts. Morrison of Georgia’s Macon-Bibb County told Community Playmaker that one of the major considerations in how they developed the facility was noise concerns. To meet this concern, acoustical ears and drywall in pods around courts were built. They’re also hanging carpet squares and other items to absorb sound.
Image courtesy of Adobe Stock
Once a municipality decides to embrace pickleball, thought should also be put into handling player demand. “Municipalities have to manage court time,” says PPR’s Santorum. “If the same court surface is to be used for various court sports, there should be a schedule designating the days and hours of play, much like ice rinks do with ice hockey, figure skating, recreational skating, and the like. There should be set times that work for pickleball players.”
Another consideration for municipalities is whether to build tournament facilities. Assuming that funding and space are available, Santorum’s answer is yes. “Tournaments are a moneymaker and can have a great economic impact. Pickleball is so hot now, and it’s a terrific way for municipalities to make some money. You can build events by getting local and larger business communities involved, and there are also sponsorship options, such as leveraging space on court windscreens for company names and logos.” He concludes, “Take advantage of the pickleball phenomenon—everyone’s talking about it!”
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