North Myrtle Beach to spend upwards of a million to host America’s fastest growing sport

North Myrtle Beach will get a new outdoor pickleball complex at the J Bryan Floyd Community Center.

Gary Del Corro, chairman of the Pickleball Association in North Myrtle Beach, said that the community center will get eight new pickleball courts across from the gymnasium.

The Pickleball Association plans to raise $250,000 to add onto the initial budget of $1.2 million that the city has for the project. If fundraising efforts succeed, the project could start in an earlier phase.

According to Del Corro, the Pickleball Association of Myrtle Beach has already raised about $60,000 for the project.

Pickleball, America’s fastest-growing sport, is a paddleball game similar to tennis or badminton.

The community center already has six indoor pickleball courts and four outdoor courts. The Pickleball Association has members across Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach.

“Between Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach, we have almost 1,300 members,” Del Corro said.

The project still needs to go through the initial stages of planning and licensing, but Del Corro said he hopes that construction could start by the end of next year.

The next fundraising event is on Sept. 17, at the J Bryan Long Community Center on Possum Trot Road.

This story was originally published September 2, 2022 at 5:00 AM.