Pickleball fans across the Foothills won’t have to wait much longer.
The new Okotoks Pickleball & Tennis Centre is expected to be completed in August, with a grand opening planned for September.
Originally slated to open this spring, the 5.5-acre facility will feature 24 pickleball courts—12 indoor and 12 outdoor—as well as two outdoor tennis courts and one indoor tennis court.
Construction continues inside the new Okotoks Pickleball & Tennis Centre, which is expected to open in September. OkotoksOnline/Jayden Steidl
Located on Chinook Arch Way, next to Meadow Ridge School and across the street from Holy Trinity Academy, the facility is already looking at collaborating with nearby schools.
Greg Auld, a director with the Okotoks Pickleball & Tennis Centre, says activity will ramp up quickly once the doors open.
“We want to run 10,000 kids through the facility in five years through training programs, through the school programs, because a big part of our facility is, of course, socializing the neighbourhood. Part of that is getting the kids involved and getting them active.”
Auld estimates the facility will welcome about 200,000 visitors each year.
“We’re going to be running programs for everybody too, all age groups and all different types of programs,” says Auld. “We just want to get the people in the building and get them playing and just see what pickleball is all about.”
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The facility will also be capable of hosting a variety of community events beyond sports.
Its interior is lined with acoustic panels designed to absorb sound and reduce echoes, helping create a more comfortable environment for players and visitors.
For Auld, however, the non-profit’s main goal is creating a space where people can connect through sport.
“I played hockey, lacrosse and soccer all my life,” says Auld. “We just got into pickleball, fell in love with it and became part of the process and the board.”