Florida is home to Naples, the pickleball capital of the world, and that buzz has spread to Miami, where the sport has caught on in a big way. Now Miami is making its own statement by organizing an on-the-water extravaganza that looks like it will be the world’s largest pickleball competition!
The Pickle Games
The inaugural “Pickle Games” will be played on up to 100 bayfront courts at Miami’s Marine Stadium in early 2024.
The Games will happen over the weekend of January 13 and 14. They will host professional and novice-level competitions, in addition to live music, curated food and beverages, fan experiences, and specialty vendors.
Players can make an early-bird registration online for $400 per team. This fee includes the two days of play, access to the festival grounds and athlete village, plus commemorative merchandising.
General details about ticket pricing will be available in the next couple of months.
Calling all the pickleball warriors out there.
— Miami New Times (@miaminewtimes) July 5, 2023
https://t.co/DI2Bv1q2RL
Pickleball “Skyrocketing”
Steve Suárez, the co-founder of Pickle Games, told Axios, “Pickleball is ‘skyrocketing’ in popularity in Miami with the creation of new courts, events, and social groups. The Pickle Games Miami is a festival and tournament founded to bridge that gap between the competitive pickleballers and first-timers, as well as the general public looking to have a high-energy weekend”.
Surprisingly Florida only has two entries in the top 50 of the TPL list of U.S. cities ranked by pickleball courts per capita: St Petersburg at #2 and Tampa at #20. However, Miami is experiencing huge growth in the demand for courts – exemplified by new courts opening after complaints about there being too few places to play in comparison to the region of Southwest Florida (of which Naples is a member county) or Broward County (which contains Fort Lauderdale).
Some Greater Miami vacation rental properties have also started providing pickleball facilities.
The pickleball scene in Miami is also featured in these great articles.
