Pittsburgh trying to meet demand for pickleball courts

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — As pickleball explodes in popularity, Pittsburgh is taking action to better serve the players.

During a three-day pickleball tournament on Washington's Landing, every court was filled from morning until night.

What gained traction as a sport for retirees has now become the game of choice for millions of young people with no signs of peaking. Every time you build a new set of courts, they fill up rapidly.

In the face of this explosive demand, pickleball courts are at a premium throughout the region . The Schenley Oval is a case in point. Every evening, its four courts are in constant use, with a crowd waiting outside to play. Right next to them are a dozen tennis courts, some which are vacant.

"We're trying not to take their courts but a lot of them are sitting empty," said Chuck Vietmeier with Gamma Sports. "We noticed there's a lot of courts that aren't being used during the day and there's a lot of pickleball players. We try not to do it but that's what's been happening."

"The neighbors here on Washington's Landing want it. The neighbors on Troy Hill wanted it," said Pittsburgh Councilman Bobby Wilson. "We had a big public process."

Towns are hearing from their residents who want more pickleball in the parks. Last year on Washington's Landing, the city converted five of its seven tennis courts into a state-of-the-art complex of ten pickleball courts — a trend that's happening throughout the region.

"Did you upset some tennis players?" KDKA-TV's Andy Sheehan asked Wilson.

"Of course. There's always going to be people that are upset about something," Wilson replied.

Wilson says the city isn't abandoning tennis. He says it will invest in most of its existing tennis courts and will try to build more pickleball courts on empty space where available. But he concedes that more tennis courts will be converted as pickleball demand increases.

"Really just want our parks to thrive. We want our parks to be active all the time," Wilson said.

It appears if you do build it, they will come. The fastest growing sport in America shows no sign of peaking and towns are under pressure to accommodate pickleball.