City Of Foley Hosts USA Pickleball Tournament

The City of Foley was chosen as one of only five sites in the country to host an inaugural USA Pickleball tournament, Select Series Gulf Coast, which recently took place at the Foley Event Center. According to USA Pickleball, the National Governing Body for the sport in the U.S., the sport has been the fastest growing in America for three years. For the Select Series, which set out to make pickleball events accessible to people around the country, five regions were identified, with one site in each region and Foley hosting the Gulf Coast event. Officials said, “Part of the reason Foley was chosen to host the Select Series was because of its previous success hosting pickleball events that grow the sport in the region.” City of Foley Executive Director of Leisure Services David Thompson said pickleball events were always a part of the Foley Sports Tourism plan. When the Foley Event Center opened in 2017, it had pickleball lines included in the design of the main floor. The first pickleball event took place five months after the facility opened. The size and number of tournaments continued to grow, even drawing the USA Pickleball Atlantic South Regional in 2021.