HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — The new pickleball court complex at Pouncey Tract Park in Glen Allen officially opened Saturday morning.
John Zannino, the director of Henrico Recreation and Parks, said the addition means the park now has 24 pickleball courts.
"There's a huge demand in the community," Zannino explained. "The original 12 courts are constantly full every morning and evening you go out there, you'll see lines of players waiting to play. So we were trying to meet that demand for the community."
FULL INTERVIEW: Henrico Parks director on additional pickleball courts at Pouncey Tract Park
The 12 new illuminated pickleball courts are located at the park's softball field area.
The $4.4 million project also expanded the parking lot to accommodate 86 vehicles, essentially doubling capacity, as well as improvements to the sidewalks and the park's entrance.
Ansh Bassan, an avid pickleball player and past nationally-ranked junior player, said the sport can bring people together.
"This is really going to help Henrico's community thrive and really grow in a way that you can't really get in any other way," Bassan explained. "There's so many diversities that can play, there's so many different genders that can play, there's so many different races they can play, that it really does kind of make it very inclusive to everybody."
FULL INTERVIEW: Junior pickleball player Ansh Bassan says sport has offered 'amazing opportunity'
Bassan said he has never seen a sport grow as quickly as pickleball.
"It was a great opportunity for me to jump in a sport where I could really take over," he said. "When I started the sport, it was not very big. There was just a few people. It was a small community. And now the fact that it's grown this much is pretty impressive."
The past nationally-ranked junior player believes pickleball is so popular because it is easily accessible.
"One thing that I believe makes it such a great sport is the fact that it's easy to learn and hard to master," Bassan said. "So it always keeps you going and driving for something more while knowing how to play and coming out here and hitting with your buddies and having fun."
WATCH: Highlights from opening day of new pickleball complex at Henrico's Pouncey Tract Park
Bassan thanked Henrico officials for the expansion because he said finding courts is a challenge because of the sport's popularity they are typically double-stacked or triple-stacked, meaning 10 to 12 people waiting.
"It's going to foster a healthy community for everybody in Henrico to enjoy, and that's what it has done with me," Bassan said."I encourage everybody at home to come out try pickleball. It's here in Pouncey Tract Park. I bet you're going to have a great time."
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