Roller skating in Central Park is so 2022… This year what is in Manhattan is pickleball, a sport halfway between tennis, paddle tennis, badminton and ping-pong. It still does not have a name in Spanish due to its difficult translation. It would literally be a pickle ball… Since yesterday, it is the latest sensation in Manhattan and the official confirmation of the spring premiere, since the famous Wollman Rink ice rink, the scene of countless films, opened its doors yesterday, converted into 14 rinks of pickleball. New Yorkers will be able to play this popular paddle sport until early October, when the cold and icy return to Central Park.
CityPickle, the company that has won the concession, ensures that this discipline has been imposed thanks to the fact that the courts are much smaller than the tennis courts, so more enter the same venue. In addition, it is a much easier sport to play than tennis or paddle tennis. Actually, while many haven’t heard of it, pickleball isn’t really that recent. In fact, it was invented in 1965 at the home of Joel Pritchard, congressman and lieutenant governor of Washington.
The idea came up in the summer. A missing badminton shuttlecock was to blame. Since the family couldn’t play, they used whatever was on hand. A plastic ball and some improvised plywood paddles. They lowered the badminton court net and pickleball was born, whose name is supposedly inspired by the pickle boat, a term used to refer to the last boat to cross the finish line in a rowing competition and whose crew is made up of athletes discarded by other vessels. The Pritchards thought it a perfect name for their new entertainment, invented from the scraps of other disciplines.
What they never imagined is that almost sixty years later pickleball would conquer Central Park’s Wollman Rink. Last year, during the summer, the ice rink was replaced by a roller skating disco. Renting one of these courts for sixty minutes costs around 100 euros during rush hour, 75 euros at times of low demand. This new facility will be added to others that are being set up throughout the city, in full pickleball effervescence among the great managers of Wall Street.
In fact, among the executives of Wollman Park Partners, a firm that operates the facilities after the New York City Council canceled its contract two years ago with the business conglomerate of former United States President Donald Trump (which has managed it since the eighties), include Josh Harris, co-founder of Apollo, and David Blitzer, global head of tactical operations at Blackstone, who know first-hand the sport that is all the rage among executives in the Big Apple.
In addition, the Philadelphia 76ers basketball team and the New Jersey Devils hockey team also participate in the joint venture, as well as the Equinox gym chain and Related Companies, the promoter that has been in charge of developing the new Hudson Yarks financial district.
With these sponsors, pickleball is poised to become Manhattan’s next sports hit. Although it also triumphs beyond the borders of the New York island. In fact, it is considered the fastest growing sport in the United States after the pandemic, with figures above 40%. It is estimated that there are currently around 10,000 facilities throughout the country where this discipline can be practiced, according to data from the US National Pickleball Association.
Even so, as if it were a passing fad, the CityPickle concession has been limited to this year and, depending on the results, the possibility of repeating the experience next spring or looking for a new attraction will be assessed. Although we will have to wait until winter, the ice rink will surely repeat, a true classic since it opened its doors in 1950.
