Southlake is building a $3.4 million pickleball complex that it hopes draws more visitors city with its hotels and bustling town square.
“We’re calling this the Taj Mahal of pickleball,” said Mayor John Huffman before the City Council voted recently to approve a site plan for the complex in the city’s Bicentennial Park.
It will include eight courts, a championship court with bleachers, shade structures, lighting and fencing. The complex will also include a small building for offices, storage and restrooms.
Huffman said the city is seeing lots of demand for a place to play the popular game. The city is banking on tournaments and other events to draw visitors to the complex. Bicentennial Park also has other amenities for sports enthusiasts, including a tennis center, baseball fields, batting cages, a playground and basketball courts.
“It’s amazing. We’ve got a ton of demand for pickleball services in this area. I’m shocked at how fast this sport is growing,” he said.
Other council members shared the mayor’s enthusiasm.
Pickleball’s popularity is surging in the United States, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association, and cities are building pickleball courts to cash in on the popularity of the sport. Pickleball combines the elements of tennis, table tennis and badminton, and it appeals to young and old alike. The balls are plastic and have holes in them, and the paddles, about the size of those used for table tennis, are rectangular in shape.
The sport has gained popularity since 2014, but took off during the pandemic. It was reportedly invented in 1965 by two families from Washington state, and it was named after a family dog, Pickles.
Elizabeth Campbell, Fort Worth Star-Telegram (TNS)