Pickleball, Wiffle Ball to Return to Baird Urban Sports Park in Fall

Jul 25

Louisville Downtown Partnership, with Louisville Metro Parks and Recreation and YMCA of Greater Louisville, announced the return of wiffle ball and Pickleball league play at Baird Urban Sports Park beginning this fall.

Pickleball is one of the fastest-growing sports in the nation, with more than 36.5 million players documented in 2022, according to the Association of Pickleball Professionals. As a way to meet the growing demands of the sport, Louisville Downtown Partnership is offering seasonal league play as part of their efforts to provide quality and unique amenities for Downtown residents, employees, and guests to enjoy.

“The Baird Urban Sports Park is a one-of-a-kind urban space in Downtown,” said Rebecca Fleischaker, executive director of Louisville Downtown Partnership said in a news release. “With the increasing popularity in Pickleball and a curiosity about the baseball-like wiffle ball, we are excited to bring more athletic and recreational offerings to historic W. Main Street.”

The fall Pickleball league will accommodate 24 teams with the wiffle ball league accommodating 7 teams. Wiffle ball games will be played on Wednesdays, beginning Aug. 16, and Pickleball games will take place on Thursdays, beginning Aug. 17. Games on both days will start at 5:30pm. Each league team will play eight games, including league playoff games.

“The Baird Urban Sports Parks continues to be an ace for our downtown,” said Mayor Craig Greenberg. “We are happy to welcome back another season of excitement and competition to the formerly vacant lot, and we give a big thank you to Baird for their ongoing sponsorship and to the Louisville Downtown Partnership, the YMCA, and our own Louisville Metro Parks and Recreation for organizing the leagues.”

To register, visit louisvilledowntown.org/urbansportspark. The registration deadline is August 14 or when team slots are full.

The Baird Urban Sports Park, located in the RePurposed event space, was previously an underutilized vacant lot. Today, the park houses two regulation size Pickleball courts and a wiffle ball field, all made possible by Baird’s sponsorship in the fall of 2022.

In addition to the 8-week league play, the Baird Urban Sports Park is open to the public for pickup play Monday – Saturday from 10am – 8pm, operating on an as available basis. When not in use, the space is also available to rent for public and private events. For more information, visit here.