REGIONAL
matters
PICKLEBALL KNOCKS IT OUT OF THE BALLPARK
By Drew Wathey
The Green Monster at Fenway Park in Boston , Massachusetts , may be one of the most iconic landmarks in all of professional sports . And , while baseballs caroming off the great wall found their way into the gloves of Hall of Famers Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski over the years , the backdrop will now be an event setting for the surging sport of pickleball .
A newly created Ballpark Series , the brainchild of Pickleball4America , is featuring the country ’ s fastest-growing sport showcased on the fields at not only Boston ’ s revered layout July 13-16 , but also Oracle Park in San Francisco , California , July 20-23 and from August 3-6 at Denver ’ s Coors Field in Colorado .
“ The Ballpark Series builds on the recent success of the 2023 US Open Pickleball Championships , which set new records for both participation and attendance ,” said Mike Dee , chairman of Pickleball4America . “ We are excited to now expand our event portfolio in these cathedrals of baseball , providing players and fans with a unique experience to enjoy all that pickleball has to offer . Our goal is to shine a bright light on this great game .”
A brighter light may be coming in the future as Pickleball4America plans on going through the turnstiles of more major league ballparks , but first it wants to secure the initial host cities with an unparalleled playing experience for amateur pickleballers .
“ Demand has been so great during the registration period that we have already added a fifth day at Fenway ,” said Dee in June . “ We anticipate approximately 576 participants for the amateur tournament there . The final numbers will ultimately depend on the size of the parties for each court reservation , but we expect that to be around 2,800 . We expect similar numbers on a perday , per-court basis in San Francisco and Denver .”
Amateur players can participate in the Ballpark Series by reserving court time for an 80-minute session for up to 10 players . Additionally , for those amateurs who want to compete for an inaugural Ballpark Series medal , there will be doubles championships at skill levels 3.5 and up .
Staging the Ballpark Series while baseball ’ s regular season is underway has been quite an undertaking for Pickleball4America , which recently merged with the US Open Pickleball Championships , but the sport ’ s popularity is clearly reflected in the baseball league ’ s willingness to accommodate all things pickleball .
“ Executing these events in the middle of the baseball season puts added pressure on field management / preservation as well as timing related to load in and load out ,” added Dee . “ Our partner teams in all three cases have been simply outstanding in collaborating with us to address these challenges .”
For more details on the Ballpark Series , visit redsox . com / pickleball for Boston , sfgiants . com / pickleball for San Francisco , and rockies . com / pickleball for Denver .
All sessions will be open for fans to purchase general admission tickets . For more details , visit pickle4 . com . •
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