Leaders of the USA Pickleball Association, some of whom reside in Surprise, see the potential in bringing a national tournament to the growing city.
While the sport originated in Washington state, pickleball has spread across North America. There are an estimated 2,000 players in and around Surprise alone, according to leaders of the association, whose mission is to promote the sport.
Planned for Nov. 22-30, 2008, with only recreational play on Thanksgiving Day, the tournament would bring at least 300 players, said Barney Myer, the association’s tournament-committee chairman.
The group will start accepting registrations as early as next month and is already seeking sponsorships.
The tournament is slated to feature singles, doubles and mixed doubles in all age divisions as well as rounds of open play where all ages square off.
“Everybody wants to show they are the best in the nation, and they’re going to come from all over,” Myer said.
But the question remains if and where the tournament will occur.
Twelve City Council-approved courts could be completed in Surprise Farms Park by late 2008 or early 2009, Public Works Director Bob Beckley said.
But the Pickleball Association needs a commitment that courts will be done by September at the latest to properly plan for the tournament, Myer said.
This means having to consider hosting the event in one of Surprise’s active adult communities, most likely Sun City Grand.
Though that community has 20 pickleball courts, staging the tournament there would present a couple of issues, Myer said.
For one, the courts in Sun City Grand are converted tennis courts and lack the fencing necessary to keep balls from flying onto other courts during play.
Secondly, Myer said it wouldn’t be fair to ask Sun City Grand to provide the venue when the city as a whole would benefit from tourism dollars in hotel stays and dining.
Ultimately, Sun City Grand could be the best location possible in Surprise with no city-funded facilities, Myer said. He adds that plan is contingent on Sun City Grand’s agreeing to host the event.
In June, the Surprise Recreation Advisory Board recommended building the pickleball courts as part of the new Surprise Tennis & Racquet Complex.
This appealed to the pickleball association, because the tennis complex already has locker rooms, a snack bar and other amenities designed to accommodate tournaments.
Councilman Joe Johnson, a leader in bringing the tennis complex to fruition, has expressed opposition to combining tennis players and pickleball players in the same facility, citing in part concerns with the noise playing pickleball would generate. Pickleball players have dismissed this claim.
Myer described the decision not to share the tennis complex as “disappointing.”
Community & Recreation Services Director Mark Coronado said no matter the location, providing an exact schedule for building the courts would be impossible without a construction contract.
This month, the council voted to proceed with spending $400,000 for pickleball courts as part of Surprise Farms Park rather than the tennis center.
With three new council members and a new mayor taking office in January, it’s possible the pickleball-court discussion is not over.
Any further discussion, however, would only add to construction delays, Beckley said.
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