Brigham City’s 24-seat pickleball park is possibly the city’s biggest tourist destination – Cache Valley Daily

Kyle Klein of Brigham City is working on his pickleball technique in one of the 24 lighted and fenced-in courts built for the sport on Friday March 12th.

BRIGHAM CITY – Investing in pickleball courts in the parks and recreational areas of Brigham City is paying off immensely.

Kristy Wolford Brigham City’s Community Activity & Services Director and Kyle Klein, President of the Northern Utah Pickleball Association, are proud of the 24 lighted and fenced-in pickleball courts the city can use.

Kristy Wolford, director of community activities and services in Brigham City, recently told the city council that the 24-seat pickleball park attracts players from across the country and that it could be a major tourist attraction for years to come.

“In 2013, John Gullo from Ogden came up to us to set up some pickleball courts in the park and brought the Tournament of Champions (TOC),” said Wolford. “He told us he turned to Ogden City about it, and they declined his suggestion. ”

Interest in the unique sport has grown over the years, drawing mostly seniors, until the younger generation has recently started to get into it.

“It’s the only sport I know that has a reverse interest. Sports and other activities range from the young to the elderly, ”said Wolford. “Pickleball is different. It starts with the older generation and spreads to the younger generation who start playing it. ”

Hailing from Brigham City, Wolford said the sport’s popularity is growing across the state and across the country, and that the growth has been a positive thing for the city. Wolford said the city has set up a pickleball court in the senior center. Wolford said they play pickleball and set up courts in schools or anywhere a gym is located for most of the year.

Brigham City chose pickleball, making it a tourist destination for those out of town who enjoy the fast growing sport.

“When the Pickleball table of contents came out, just over 400 people signed up,” she said. “In 2019, nearly 600 players came and in 2020, when the city acquired the rights to the tournament, more than 800 people registered.”

Then COVID came and they had to cancel the tournament.

“We’re probably the third largest pickleball tournament destination in the country,” she said. “We have people from out of town who come to court in the summer and join our local players on the courts.”

Wolford told the story of a Washington state man who came to Brigham City to play on its courts because of the city’s reputation.

After Ogden failed to accept Pickleball, John Gullo offered it to Brigham City and brought the Tournament of Champions, which attracts hundreds of people to the city.

“He stayed in our hotel, ate in our restaurants and played with our residents,” she said. “He had such a great time that he comes back every year. He’s one of many who come here every year to play. “

According to Wolford, players bring their RVs and tents to play pickleball in the town’s lighted and fenced-off courts.

“The purse for this year’s table of contents is over $ 100,000. We always have some of the best players in the country here, ”she said. “We’re going to have a band play on one of our dishes and food trucks. People will pitch their tents in the park. “

Brigham City’s Tate Klein hits the ball on one of the 24 lighted and fenced pickleball courts built for the sport on Friday March 12th.

Wolford said it brings back many memories of the ’70s when people spent time outside in the parks instead of playing video games inside.

Kyle Klein, a chiropractor by profession and based in Brigham City, is the president of the Northern Utah Pickleball Association and said he watched guys in their eighties get out of their cars and barely walk, but when they were ready to hit that Dishes to go play they get pretty active. Kline’s whole family is playing.

“When seniors go out on the pitch and start playing, they are completely different. You move and hit the ball, ”he said. “Playing pickleball helps your agility and stamina, as well as your mental and social skills.”

This year the table of contents is scheduled for Friday and Saturday August 13th and 14th before the regular tournament starts on August 17th.

Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America. It is a paddleball sport that combines elements from badminton, table tennis and tennis. The sport was invented in the mid-1960s and can accommodate two or four players who use solid paddles to hit a perforated polymer ball over a net.