SAN DIEGO — Pickleball has been surging in popularity both nationally and right here in San Diego County. Some feel there just aren’t enough courts to meet the need and high demand.
“I think the whole country has seen that surge, so yeah, there’s a big surge,” said Ryan Redondo, CEO of Youth Tennis San Diego, a nonprofit that owns and operates the Barnes Tennis Center in Point Loma.
The Barnes Tennis Center has seven pickleball courts up and running, and they’re working to build 12 more by the end of the month.
“It’s a great opportunity for pickleball players to learn the game that haven’t before, those that are right now invested in playing every day and socializing with it,” said Redondo. “For us to bring this to the public is huge, so that’s going to create a whole ecosystem for the sport itself. We’ll start to be able to bring in tournaments locally, national tournaments, professional tournaments.”
“There’s no question that pickleball has been a growing sport here in San Diego,” said Todd Sprague, president of the Peninsula Tennis Club based at Robb Field in Ocean Beach. “There have been very few pickleball courts, so naturally, you’re going to have a lot of players and you have this supply/demand imbalance.”
Sprague says the park is going through a planning update process, which could potentially bring pickleball courts to Robb Field.
“Part of that plan includes a new standalone pickleball facility that would have about 14 additional pickleball courts here in Robb Field,” said Sprague.
If the plan is eventually approved, the new pickleball courts could be operational within a couple years.
“The demand for pickleball seems to be growing, so having additional facilities and courts to be able to meet the needs of the pickleball community makes perfect sense,” said Sprague.
The Robb Field Community Recreation Group will be reviewing the plans to add pickleball courts to Robb Field at the next meeting on October 3.
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