Pickleball For All: New Pickleball Courts Unveiled in Belltown

Last weekend, Besa Gordon tapped in at the City of Seattle’s Pickleball For All Tournament to check out the sport which has become the fastest in America. Hosted by the city as part of their Downtown Development plan, the tournament featured courts set up under the monorail tracks for Pickleball players from all over Seattle to enjoy.

“There isn’t a cooler site in all of America than Pickleball under the monorail, and it’s bringing together all the things which are great about community - laughter, athletics, and the spirit of fun,” Seattle Metro Pickleball Association President Frank Chiappone said. 

Pickleball enthusiast Uriah Macklin said that seeing the streets he walks every day turned into Pickleball courts was encouraging. 

“Being able to be in an environment with people just having a good time and it’s not anything crazy going on - I’m here for it,” Macklin said. “I’m hoping people can be more collaborative and do more events like this and get everybody from every background involved.”

Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said the event was another step towards his aim to make Seattle safer and more community-focused.

“We take this purpose very seriously. There’s a lot of excitement in the world of Pickleball, you see people of all abilities trying to activate the city,” Harrell said. “We don’t want to abandon anyone in our efforts to build One Seattle.”

The city also cut the ribbon on brand new permanent Pickleball courts near Vine Street and Fifth Avenue. These are available for public use on a first come-first serve basis for players of all skill levels.

You can see how Besa did on the courts and learn more in the video.

Make sure to tune into #Back2Besa every Saturday at 10:30 pm on FOX13 Seattle and Sunday at 10am on FOX13+ for more great stories like this one.