Pickleball sees surge in interest across the Inland Northwest, with demand for new courts to match

Jul. 4—As pickleball's fan base grows in Spokane, Coeur d'Alene can claim one home-court advantage: hosting a tournament soon with more than 430 players.

The Inland Northwest Pickleball Club plans its July 13-16 CdA Classic Pickleball Tournament at Cherry Hill Park, drawing visitors from 20 states and a few countries.

Similar tournaments are happening nationwide — the latest showing of a surge in popularity for the game that combines elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis.

"The tournaments have been part of the growth for pickleball," said Craig Woolf, the local club's president.

Since 2019, pickleball has grown nationwide. An estimated 36.5 million Americans played pickleball at least once during the 12 months between August 2021 and 2022, based on a participation study by the Association of Pickleball Professionals and the YouGov analytics firm.

"People like to compete against people in their age group and at their level," Woolf said. "There are some people who travel in the summer and go from one tournament to the other."

It was already popular in Washington, which last year designated pickleball the official state sport.

Among local groups, the Inland Northwest club has about 550 members, compared with 180 three years ago. The PNW Pickleball Association, based in Spokane, has nearly 8,000 players in the Northwest. Of those, 3,200 are in greater Spokane, organizer Joe Perella said.

Woolf attributes part of the popularity to the social aspect.

"When I started playing almost six years ago now, I would run into people all the time who had no clue what pickleball was," he said.

Woolf said that doesn't happen any more.

"I've played in nine different states. I know as soon as I put my paddle up at wherever I'm going to play, I have friends."

Meg Morgan celebrates a good hit while playing pickleball at Cherry Hill Park in Coeur d'Alene on Tuesday, June 27, 2023. (Kathy Plonka/The Spokesman-Review)Buy a print of this photo

Three men invented pickleball in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington, and today the sport is played indoors and outdoors. People play as doubles or singles on a 44-by-20-foot court and use paddles, a plastic ball with holes and a modified net.

Many warm-climate retirement communities have pickleball courts, but pickleball doesn't just appeal to seniors.

Tyson McGuffin, a 31-year-old Coeur d'Alene-area resident, is a top-ranked professional pickleball player. A 16-year-old, Anna Leigh Waters, is among the top five pros. Selkirk Sport, a leading designer and manufacturer of pickleball paddles, is based in Hayden.

Depending on location, it can be tough to find enough courts. Here and in other cities, one answer is to create "shared use" by painting new lines for pickleball on tennis courts. Pickleball nets are stored in a lockbox.

On shared-use courts, tennis players aren't always fans of the extra lines, said Diane Maehl, administrator of the Spokane Pickleball Facebook group.

"Tennis players kind of feel like pickleball is invading their world," she said.

Today, the region has some pickleball-only courts, with others in the works.

Coeur d'Alene built 11 dedicated pickleball courts across four parks, and it has 20 shared-use courts with tennis, Woolf said. Players also use a former soccer site. Peak Fitness has indoor courts and Hayden Lake Country Club has outdoor ones. Post Falls has six dedicated courts and about 12 on tennis courts.

"We want to try to be proactive," Woolf said.

The Coeur d'Alene club has helped pay for the court upgrades at parks such as fencing, and members will do maintenance from weeding to cleaning, Woolf said. Also, members are raising funds toward building more courts.

"By next year, we'll have six permanent pickleball courts that the city is building at Cherry Hill Park," he said. "The club will help pay for the new courts."

The city of Spokane has 17 pickleball courts — mostly shared-use with tennis across five parks at A.M. Cannon, Comstock, Sky Prairie, Mission and Peaceful Valley. There are plans to add more shared-use courts at Mission.

The city plans to build two dedicated pickleball courts at Corbin Park in the fall, along with three at Underhill Park in 2024. Spokane County has two dedicated courts at Prairie View Community Park and plans to build eight permanent pickleball courts at Holmberg Park.

Other municipal sites regionally include shared-use courts at Liberty Lake's Orchard and Rocky Hill parks, Hart Field and Millwood Park.

"Spokane has kind of been behind in adding courts," Maehl said. She began the sport six years ago and lives in Phoenix, where she can play more.

"I'm coming to the Coeur d'Alene tournament, and I do play in Spokane when I'm there," she said. "Pickleball has certainly entered the mainstream. In the whole country, it's becoming very popular. Tons more people are playing."

Liberty Lake resident Rose Jones, a longtime tennis professional, tried pickleball in 2019 and is an avid player. She said one advantage is that Spokane is rich with tennis courts, including at most high schools where the public can play.

"There are more than enough tennis courts here in the city of Spokane, but there's not nearly enough pickleball courts," she said.

She said a U.S. Tennis Association committee offers free consulting for municipal planners to build complexes, perhaps with a greenbelt separating tennis and pickleball.

Some cities also have had revenue and tourism gains when they build for pickleball, Jones said. Brigham City, Utah, has a 24-court pickleball complex, "constantly running tournaments."

Orchard Park and Comstock steadily get packed with pickleball players, she added.

"At Comstock, the city lined only four courts, but because there is so much play there, the group just took tape and taped another six courts," she said.

Jones said she was there on a recent morning, and "every single one of those courts, lined or taped, was in use."

Some fitness centers offering pickleball include Warehouse Athletic Facility, the HUB, Spokane Club, North Park Wellness and YMCAs. Astria Pickleball Academy, formerly named Pickleball Playground in North Spokane, offers membership, with five indoor courts and nine outdoor ones.

Entrepreneurs see the demand.

Pickleball player Sundei Floyd and husband Ryan Floyd, former Gonzaga basketball player, are co-owners of Pickleball on Broadway, previously an AAU basketball facility. She will operate it as a membership-based site, which opened Saturday near the Spokane fairgrounds with three resurfaced indoor courts.

"I know in the summer, it's hard to find courts here that are not full," Sundei Floyd said. "And 10 months out of the year here, realistically with the elements and then later being dark at 4 p.m., we need more indoor courts."