The Capital City will host Louisiana’s first professional pickleball tournament, which is expected to bring in around $800,000 worth of revenue for the area.
The Professional Pickleball Association’s inaugural season of the PPA Tour Challenger Series Powered by JOOLA will be held at the Stacks Pickleball sports complex on April 4-6.
Stacks Pickleball is located on the campus of Celtic Studios and is Louisiana’s first and largest climate-controlled pickleball facility. The facility features 12 indoor courts, a pro shop, an event space and a lounge area.
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The PPA Tour Challenger Series aims to encourage participation and elevate the sport.
With over a dozen tour stops spanning the country in 2025, the series will feature amateur and aspiring professional pickleball players.
“We look forward to sharing our unique culture with the players and their guests by providing a rich Louisiana experience,” Visit Baton Rouge Director of Sports Development Jason Suitt says in a prepared statement. “As the first professional pickleball tournament held in Louisiana, this event will help elevate Baton Rouge’s position within the fast-growing pickleball community within the state, region and nationally.”
The sport’s popularity has exploded in the area over the past decade. BREC has offered pickleball since 1997 and currently provides 84 courts at 21 sites across East Baton Rouge Parish, including staffed centers, indoor gyms and outdoor courts.
Electric Pickle opened courts at Electric Depot on Government Street in July 2024, and Court to Table, a new bar, restaurant, and pickleball concept, will open on Burbank Drive later this year.
The PPA Tour event is not the only tournament Baton Rouge is set to host, though.
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The United States Bowling Congress Open Championships, the nation’s largest bowling tournament, returns to Baton Rouge from March 1 until July 28 at the Raising Cane’s River Center. The last time Baton Rouge hosted the event was 2012.
The event’s economic impact on the area is expected to reach $110 million, according to Visit Baton Rouge.
This story was originally published by Daily Report on Feb. 28. To keep up with Baton Rouge business news, subscribe to the free Daily Report e-newsletter here.