RALEIGH, N.C. – In an area filled with basketball, football, baseball, soccer, and hockey, could pickleball catch on?
- Pickleball is a growing sport in the Triangle
- Pickleball combines tennis, badminton, and ping-pong
- Players say they need more pickleball facilities
Pickleball, which combines aspects of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong, is growing in the Triangle.
“There are 11 public places. The city of Raleigh has really jumped on the bandwagon and given a lot of opportunity for us,” pickleball player Joe Borrelli said.
However, there is a groundswell for more and better facilities.
“There are possibilities to convert existing facilities into indoor or outdoor courts or a combination so we are not into building expensive new buildings just for pickleball,” said Bruce Blankenhorn of the Raleigh Pickleball Advisory Group.
Pickleball is played on a badminton-sized court with a 34-inch net and a lightweight ball. It began on the West Coast around 50 years ago and started becoming popular in the Triangle 10 years ago.
“We started with fewer than a dozen players in one gym occasionally,” Blankenhorn said.
It has grown enough that dozens of players requested more facilities at the last Raleigh City Council meeting. They want 24 new courts – 12 indoor and 12 outdoor.
“We’ve seen a large growth from 2012, when we first started till the most recent number, we’re around 1,200 players playing actively,” Raleigh Recreation Superintendent Billy Aubut said.
Players say pickleball is a good sport for everyone.
“It’s got a lot of physical benefits, health benefits, and a lot of social benefits. So, wherever you go, there are a lot of people there not just for the play but for the social aspect as well,” Aubut said.