LYNNWOOD, Wash. — This story was originally published on mynorthwest.com
An elaborate indoor pickleball facility is coming to Lynnwood as the burgeoning sport continues to expand its reach within the state in which the sport was founded.
Pickleball Kingdom will inhabit a 40,000 square foot facility, replacing a now-shuttered Bed Bath and Beyond located at 3115 196th Street SW. The facility will have 12 courts, a pro store, locker rooms, showers, an upstairs mezzanine, private rooms for events and parties, and a dink wall—a virtual screen used for practicing swings.
Coaching clinics, training, leagues and tournaments, and youth programs will all be available to members.
“The state of Washington is renowned for its passionate pickleball community, and Lynnwood is an excellent choice for Pickleball Kingdom,” Ace Rodrigues, Founder and CEO of Pickleball Kingdom, said. “John and Mara Hylton bring extensive experience and are committed to providing top-tier facilities and a welcoming environment. We’re thrilled to bring our brand to this vibrant community.”
Pickleball won’t come cheap
Pickleball Kingdom comes with monthly and annual memberships. Memberships will require a $100 initiation fee before starting at $129 a month. First responders, such as law enforcement officers and firefighters, are eligible for an additional 10% discount on top of that, according to The Lynnwood Times.
The pickleball center will have “open plays” where people can drop in, free of charge, to check out all the hype.
This will be the eighth Pickleball Kingdom in Washington, and the first in Snohomish County. The other locations are in Vancouver, Yakima, Tacoma, Spokane, Seattle, Bellevue, and Poulsbo.
Pickleball Kingdom opens in Lynnwood on April 25.
Beginning of pickleball traces back to WA
Pickleball’s origins can be traced back to former Washington Rep. Joel Pritchard, who was said to have come up with the sport with businessman Bill Bell while at the Congressman’s Bainbridge Island home in 1965. As the story goes, Pritchard and Bell were searching for badminton equipment, but when they couldn’t find enough rackets for a game, they used ping-pong paddles and a plastic ball instead.
“At first, they placed the net at badminton height of 60 inches and volleyed the ball over the net,” the USA Pickleball website read. “As the weekend progressed, the players found that the ball bounced well on the asphalt surface and soon the net was lowered to 36 inches.”
After inviting their friend Barney McCallum to try out at the game on Pritchard’s property the next weekend, the trio drafted a set of rules, kickstarting decades of growth for the sport as it spread across the globe.
For the third year in a row, pickleball was crowned as the fastest-growing sport in the U.S., according to SFIA’s Topline Participation Report. Pickleball has grown 51.8% from 2022 to 2023, and by 224% over the last three years. Every age demographic saw a growth in participation during this span.
In May 2023, it was announced that Seattle had the most pickleball courts per 100,000 people in the U.S., though it has since been passed up by Louisville, Kentucky, Madison, Wisconsin, and Honolulu, Hawaii.
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