Pickleball courts are coming to Center City

Pickleball courts will soon pop up at Dilworth Park.

Two outdoor temporary courts will be available to rent from Sept. 7 through Oct. 21, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. every day, weather permitting. Courts cost $40 for an hour, and paddles are an additional $6 each, with up to six players permitted per court.

CityPickle, the company behind the courts, has already brought the sport to New York City with temporary locations in Central Park and Hudson Yards. The company, founded in 2021, is opening the first club dedicated to pickleball in New York City this fall and has plans to do the same in Philadelphia next year.

“People living in Philadelphia, downtown, have the same exact challenges as people living in all dense urban areas,” cofounder Mary Cannon said. “[They] don’t have as many opportunities as people living in suburbs or other parts of the country to play.”

Without a large driveway, or the necessary square footage, people in cities can’t easily set up their own pickleball courts, Cannon said.

For now, the temporary courts are an opportunity for Philadelphians to experience the sport, which has divided the country. There are those who despise the sound of the hard plastic ball hitting the paddle and those who can’t get enough of the sport — one South Jersey couple even planned a pickleball-themed wedding day.

Pickleball, which grew in popularity during the pandemic, is the fastest growing sport in the country, according to the Sports and Fitness Industry Association.

Center City District president and CEO Paul R. Levy said in a news release that the courts at Dilworth Park are “part of a broader effort to activate office plazas this fall to support the return to work and play downtown.”

Cofounders Cannon and her business partner, Erica Desai, both have ties to the region, making Philadelphia the obvious choice for expansion, they said. Desai is an alum of the University of Pennsylvania, and Cannon grew up in Montgomery County.

During the pandemic, Cannon and Desai individually discovered pickleball while vacationing with their families. They quickly understood the appeal, but when they returned home, they realized it was hard to find courts to play on in New York City. They decided to found a company to make pickleball more accessible.

As of October of last year, Philadelphia had around 2,000 regular pickleball players, according to an estimate from Braden Keith, who runs the Philadelphia Pickleball Facebook page.

“There’s thousands of players who are playing pickleball in Philadelphia, but there isn’t a dedicated club. For us, that’s a great opportunity,” Cannon said.

Avid players already have courts to play on in the region, including a $4 million facility that opened in Malvern in May with 16 indoor courts, and a South Jersey center with eight courts that opened in February.

CityPickle expects their permanent indoor club with pickleball courts to open next summer in Center City.

While the details are still being ironed out, Cannon and Desai said they are planning a club that will be open to the public but will also have membership options allowing paid members to get early access to court reservations, as well as tournaments and leagues.

The club will also feature a full bar and restaurant.

Cannon said she and Desai agree that “pickleball is best enjoyed when you can also have a taco and a margarita.”