It is one of the fastest growing sports in the world and Okotoks Prepare to exploit Pickleball.
The sport has flourished in the town and many of the town's tennis courts have been converted to meet demand.
“We started playing in a gym with lines taped off…we were limited to 13 two-hour games a week,” said Greg Auld, director of the Okotoks Pickleball and Tennis Center (OPTC).
“If you do the math, 250 people playing for 27 hours is not enough to accommodate that many people,” added Don Lang, president of the Okotoks Pickleball Club.
That prompted the center, a nonprofit organization, to work with the town of Okotoks to create a new facility for the area.
“We believe it will be a very unique facility on the world stage,” said Ryan Sawatzky, president of OPTC.
Plans were unveiled last month for a 44,000-square-foot complex that will be located next to two schools in the northern part of town and feature a dozen indoor pickleball courts, outdoor court space and a restaurant and bar.
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Sawatsky said the move is aimed at attracting more young people to participate in the sport.
“In the first five years after the facility is built, we will provide classes to 10,000 children from the surrounding communities.”
The complex will be the largest in Canada and will cost $10 million to build. So far, $6 million has been raised.
The pickleball community has high hopes for the future of the sport.
“My wife said the other day that she was playing against a 14-year-old and now this kid has joined in. So that’s another reason for this facility, we can accommodate all different age groups and different levels of players,” said Ald.
“More and more guys are honing in on their training and their games, so that’s another reason we can utilize more courts,” Long said.
The goal is to start construction next spring and complete it in early 2026.
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