It’s Pickleball Time!

You know what time it is? It’s Pickleball Time! Remember when we all started into this sport over a few short years ago - it was 2014! No one had ever even heard of the sport! People tried to figure out what we were talking about, and of course made fun of the name, but it caught on quickly. The County was rather reluctant to give them space, but we got it done anyway! The drivers behind that effort were Terri Graham, Chris Evon, Jim and Carol Ludwig, and of course, I was in the background to help. Now cities around the world are playing it and many vied for the right to be called the Pickleball Capital of the WORLD! But that title belongs to US!!!! No County in the world has over 64 courts, this is the largest facility in the world! The U.S. Open is the largest Pickleball Tournament in the World! It’s mind boggling. And for the East Naples residents, they actually say it’s in EAST NAPLES, yah, instead of dancing around South Naples! Way back in the beginning, East Naples became the County Seat after Hurricane Donna in 1960! Last year, we had 2,100 PLAYERS from all over this world, and this year we have 2,800 players reserved!!! We brought in $9.8 million of economic impact to our county last year! This year, we expect to bring in $12 million of economic impact. This year, the players are from 29 different countries. There are 48 states represented. The county this year has invested in this property over $4 million which includes the new welcome center. This year Collier County has already started working with Spirit Promotions for improvements for next year’s open (Thank you, Chris and Terri!) Improved parking is our dream. The tournament ends on April 30th with the exciting conclusion to the games: The Parade of Flags from all the countries whose players are participating! The music and flags send chills down your spine. And for a little added history, the museum at Government Center has a display of Pickleball exhibits! Lots of pictures and brochures from past games, plus uniforms, etc. Hopefully, it doesn’t rain this year, but if it does for a short time, you know where you can go to get in out of the rain and still enjoy another facet of Pickleball until the weather clears. And a special thank you to Jean Kunzel and sister Janet and brother Jimmy for their delivery service! And for helping with the Marco support, I thank Shirlee Barcic! It takes a team to be successful, and I thank this team for helping me get to the court!