CLEVELAND — As pickleball continues to grow in popularity, Cleveland is paying attention.
At Monday's meeting, Cleveland City Council approved entering into a grant agreement with the Euerle Group, LLC, to provide $100,000 in economic development assistance to partially finance renovation for an indoor pickleball court. The project will see a long closed and empty building located at 12400 Crossburn Avenue transformed into an indoor pickleball facility featuring 10 courts.
It is anticipated that the facility could open as early as this summer.
“This is part of the city that doesn’t see much investment,” Councilman Brian Kazy said of the project.
Pickleball, which is played with two or four players on a court similar to a doubles badminton court, has become one of America's fastest growing sports in recent years. According to USA Pickleball, the sport had more than 36 million players in 2022, with its growing popularity resulting in an increasing demand for space to play the game.
That includes in Northeast Ohio, where many residents have bemoaned the lack of available pickleball courts.
“I do think the cities are recognizing that there’s a great demand because they hear from their own residents that they want courts,” pickleball ambassador Rick Warsinskey told 3News last year. “I’ve seen a number of meetings are being held by council and the mayors are getting involved and the park districts, to try and find places to build courts and come up with the money. I think they’re making good efforts to fill as many courts.”
For those who can't wait until this summer, we have compiled a list of 15 pickleball courts in Northeast Ohio, which can be found here.