Black Desert Resort says its building a professional pickleball hub with a stadium court.

Ivins

Black Desert Resort in Ivins, Utah, is expanding its sports offerings by constructing a professional pickleball hub, including a stadium court and 21 high-tech courts. The facility is expected to host a major event on the Carvana Professional Pickleball Tour and features permanent grandstands with advanced technology for tracking player performance.

Local experts note that the St. George area has a significant history with pickleball, tracing its roots back to the Huntsman World Senior Games in 2003. The new development is seen as a step toward making southern Utah a prominent destination for professional sports, with the potential for the facility to become a leading venue in the pickleball world.

'Wimbledon of Pickleball' set to rise in southern Utah desert

I'm Chris Reed and Ivins. Preparations are well underway for next week's PGA Bank of Utah Championship here at Black Desert Resort. So why are people talking about pickleball? Yeah, I mean, honestly, they said we were crazy when we were trying to get the LPGA and the PGA. Already home to two professional golf tournaments, Black Desert Resort says it's building a professional pickleball hub with a stadium court. Mang says it will host the fifth major cup event in the Carvana Professional Pickleball Tour. It's a championship court with 1,000-seat grandstands that are permanent, not temporary bleachers, and then 21 courts that are all high technology. We can track ball movement, how your body is responding to your swing analysis. So it'll be probably the most high-tech pickleball facility there is in the country. Mang says just another step in making Southern Utah a professional sports destination. Many pickleball experts claim St. George is where the pickleball first took root in Utah after it was introduced at the annual Huntsman World Senior Games there in 2003. Senior games are well underway now, with two-time pickleball singles champion Harvey Beckerman on the court. The 85-year-old Minnesotan said he first took up the game 25 years ago. The last three, four years, I don't think anybody can explain or understand how it mushroomed from where it was. But I think that it allows so many different types of people. People can play at almost any age, and it's a fun game. Old and young. Reagan Holbrook is a 27-year-old pickleball entrepreneur from Logan. The company he started with his brother, Kaysen, sells rackets and other gear. He says the Black Desert facility and the Pearl Tournament has the potential to become the Wimbledon of pickleball. Just getting more exposure to the sport as a whole, what a great way to build the sport and grow the sport. From Ivins, Chris Reed, FOX 13 News, Utah.

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