Pickleball is bouncing into Rohnert Park in a big way.
The pint-sized-tennis sport—or is it giant pingpong?—has been gaining popularity since before the pandemic, growing from little-known activity in high school PE classes to a senior-community phenomenon to now being a mainstream recreational activity for all ages. Now, it’s coming to a vacant theater near you.
The building that houses the former Reading Cinemas at 555 Rohnert Park Expressway was approved last week by the Rohnert Park Planning Commission as the future site for a membership-driven pickleball complex. The theater ceased operations last November; the unused space comprises 74,000 square feet of the building.
Project partners Richard Coombs, Jack Weaver and Bill Carson plan to offer 17 indoor pickleball courts, pingpong tables, cornhole toss, a 2,000-square-foot gym, saunas and locker rooms. Estimates on the project costs, or membership dues, have not been determined.
Pickleball was invented in 1965 when Washington state residents Joel Pritchard, Barney McCallum and Bill Bell devised a new game their families could play using a lowered badminton net, table tennis paddles and a Wiffle ball.
A 2023 report by the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) showed that 8.9 million people played pickleball as of 2022 and had grown 87.5% year over year.