“If you build it, they will come” is not only famous for a certain baseball field; turns out it is also true for America’s fastest-growing sport, pickleball.
Clermont’s Arts and Recreation Center, 3700 S. Highway 27, will officially open six new courts, Tuesday at 10 a.m. and the public is invited to attend.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony will be followed by a pickleball demonstration and then the courts will open to the public.
“Pickleball is one of our most popular programs,” Clermont Parks and Recreation Director Brian Forman said. “We currently have four courts located at the Kehlor Center and Lake Felter Park and they stay packed.” Forman explained City staff repeatedly heard requests from residents for more courts, so $160,000 of recreation-designated impact fees was used to design and build the new courts.
Created by three, middle-aged fathers in 1965, the sport is rumored to have been named after a family dog. Its popularity started growing in 2015 and has not slowed. The National Pickleball Association estimates more than 32 million Americans play the game that combines rules and skills similar to those of tennis, badminton and ping-pong.
For more information on pickleball and other Clermont recreational programs, call 352-394- 3500 or visit www.ClermontFl.gov and select the Parks and Recreation Department.
