LYNNWOOD—A massive new indoor pickleball facility called Pickleball Kingdom is scheduled to open in Lynnwood, in the old Bed Bath and Beyond building at 3115 196th Street Southwest, on April 25.
Pickleball Kingdom will be a 40,000 square foot, 12 courts facility with a pro store, locker rooms, showers, an upstairs mezzanine, and even private rooms for events and parties.
The Lynnwood Pickleball Kingdom location will also be one of the few with a dink wall, which is a virtual screen used for practicing swings.
This will be the eighth Pickleball Kingdom in Washington – following Vancouver, Yakima, Tacoma, Spokane, Seattle, Bellevue, and Poulsbo – but the very first in Snohomish County. General Manager of Pickleball Kingdom, and Pickleball Director for the Pacific Northwest, Pablo Granados informed the Lynnwood Times the athletic chain has plans to open six-to-eight new locations throughout the Pacific Northwest in the coming future – including one in Marysville.
Granados has been embedded in the local pickleball community for years, beginning his athletic career as a Costa Rican-born soccer player for a European team. Granados effectively shelved his career after a serious injury and, during this time, he began to grow weight, he shared with the Lynnwood Times.
“I hate working out. I’m not a workout kind of guy. I did when I had to because it was my job but outside of it I was never someone who would work out,” said Granados.
Determined to lose weight, and encouraged by his wife, Granados visited a local YMCA to run on a treadmill when he saw a team of pickleball players playing a game through a window.
At this point Granados had no idea what pickleball was, but he informed the Lynnwood Times it seemed like a “thousand times better” way to lose weight than running on a treadmill.
He approached the players, was welcome with open arms, and the rest is history.
“That was probably one of the best days of my life because I was so welcome. They were so welcoming, and it was so fun, that I just kept going,” said Granados. “The best part of it, at the end of the day, was I lost like 100 pounds.”
Now Granados, a Lake Stevens resident, has been a member of the Marysville Pickleball Club for about eight years, making somewhat of a name for himself within the pickleball community. What started as a 100-person club back in 2017 has now grown to approximately 800 members, he said.
Through his involvement in the Marysville Pickleball Club, Granados has been a staunch advocate for pickleball in his local community from establishing tournaments and round robins in the area, to championing for more courts and partnering with local organizations. Granados even played a part in getting the Washington State pickleball license plate kickstarted.
When Pickleball Kingdom contacted Granados to take over their upcoming Lynnwood location, he first met with them to see if their “philosophy aligned,” he informed the Lynnwood Times, and when “it turned out [they] meshed really well,” he promptly left his High School teaching job to take upon the role full-time.
Pickleball Kingdom will operate similar to other fitness centers – with either a monthly or annual membership. Memberships will require a $100 initiation fee and will start at $129 a month with discounts offered for teams and families. First responders, such as law enforcement officers and firefighters, are eligible for an additional 10% discount on top of that.
Depending on the membership package, dues include court reservations, discounts on ball rentals, VIP invites for tournaments and events, and access to showers and locker rooms.
In addition to members-only access, Pickleball Kingdom will be holding four open plays a day where anyone can drop in, free of charge, to check it out. However, reservations are required.
Ahead of its opening, Pickleball Kingdom will be inviting local Pickleball Clubs all over Snohomish County for a free play on Tuesday, April 15.
At its Grand Opening proper, on April 25, they plan to have an official ribbon cutting ceremony featuring Lynnwood Mayor Christine Frizzell and Tammy Dunn, Executive Director of the Snohomish County Sports Commission stopping by to share some words.
During its opening weekend Pickleball Kingdom will be free and open to the public, regardless of membership, to check out the facility and see if it’s a good fit. The facility will offer three-hour blocks for 400 people at a time.
Pickleball Kingdom’s first location was opened in Chandler, Arizona, on May 2, 2022, by founder Ace Rodriguez. The fitness chain decided to franchise out locations in 2023 and have since opened more than 100 locations all over the country with locations in Arizona, New Jersey, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Arkansas, Alabama, Wisconsin, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Utah.
An alternative free option to play pickleball, separate to Pickleball Kingdom in Lynnwood, are the vast array of pickleball courts opening county-wide. To find a court nearest to you, Pickleheads is a free-to-use website listing nearby courts, and players looking to team up.
SB-5615, designating pickleball as the Washington State official state sport, was signed by Governor Jay Inslee March 28, 2022, and went into effect June 9, 2022. The primary sponsor of that bill was Mill Creek resident Senator John Lovick, with the support of pickleball advocates Chuck Wright and Kate Van Gent.
Author: Kienan Briscoe
