BRISTOL, Tenn. (WJHL) — Representatives with the Bristol Sportsplex and the City of Bristol, Tennessee welcomed the groundbreaking of a new public pickleball complex.
The outdoor facility will be located at the Sportsplex between the facility and its outdoor tennis courts.
The complex will include 12 standard pickleball courts and a competition court designed to host tournaments.
All courts will include lighting and a central pavilion will house restrooms.
The city entered a lease agreement with Sportsplex which allows the Sportsplex to offer lessons, schedule tournaments, and manage programming of the facility as long as a minimum of two courts remain open for public use at all times.
“Anytime you can do a public-private partnership like this to have this type of facility and have a world-class facility, it makes sense,” Mayor Vince Turner said.
The owners of Sportsplex announced they will host the Professional Pickleball Association Tour in August 2024.
“The City of Bristol, Tennessee and the Bristol Sportsplex have spent two years collaborating on this project because we knew we could create something really special by combining our resources,” Sportsplex owner Matt Lavinder said in a city press release. “We are so excited that all of that work is attracting the biggest professional pickleball tour on the planet to Bristol.”
Mayor Turner is excited about offering a complex for a sport growing in popularity.
“We’re drawing people right now,” Turner said. “We have people coming from Johnson City, Kingsport, coming from other parts of the area to come here now, so we can only imagine what it’s going to be once this facility is finished.”
Construction is expected to cost $2.7 million. It’s anticipated to be complete in spring 2024.
