Henrico to add more pickleball courts as the sport surges in popularity
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Henrico County is adding 12 additional pickleball courts to Pouncey Tract Park in Short Pump as the sport’s popularity continues to rise.
The $2.2-million plan will double the number of courts at the park and offer more parking and green space.
County officials have released two renderings of the provisional design for the new courts and are now fine-tuning a third version, Three Chopt District Supervisor Tommy Branin said in an interview.
“We made a promise of 12 new courts, and we’re going to stand by that,” Branin said.
According to Branin, before the county introduced the first four courts just four years ago, Pouncey Tract was a relatively unused park. But that soon changed as the sport began to draw more participants.
In 2019, Henrico added four more courts as a result of increased park attendance.
“The day the ribbon was cut, we knew we had a problem,” Branin said. “There were so many people already interested in pickleball, and it was the most fantastic group. Pickleball ranges in every nationality and every age.”
Pickleball has quickly become the fastest-growing sport in America, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association. Amid Covid-19 restrictions the game doubled in popularity, with 4.8 million players in 2021.
Benjamin Davis, a frequent pickleball player at Pouncey Tract, attributes the sport’s popularity to its low barrier to entry.
“With pickleball, you can just go out there and hit the ball back and forth within five minutes,” said Davis, who referees local tournament games “You don’t have to spend a whole bunch of money, you don’t have to be rich or part of a club, and you don’t have to be extremely athletic.”
Davis said there are many nights when every court is full, as are the paddle-holders that indicate who is up next.
“It’ll be so nice to have the new courts because as the sport keeps growing, it becomes harder and harder to get a court here,” Davis said.
County officials are hoping to reveal the third design to the public soon and to begin construction on the new courts next summer.
