A fast-growing sport is expanding in the Rio Grande Valley with plans to construct a 21,500-square-foot venue for padel ball and pickleball players.
The RGV Padel Club is making a $2.7 million investment to construct the new facility at 2513 Victoria Drive in Mission. Construction is projected to start within three months and be completed in the fourth quarter of 2024. Estimates are the RGV Padel Club will support 52 jobs and generate $1.6 million in labor income.
The Padel Club announced the project in conjunction with the Mission Economic Development Corporation. The EDC awarded the company an economic incentive of $140,000 to pay back in four annual installments of $35,000. As part of the agreement, the Padel Club agreed to maintain 20 new jobs in Mission and join the Greater Mission Chamber of Commerce as a premium member.
“We think we can create a bigger community (of pickleball players) in Mission because a lot of people from Mexico come to Mission to shop and eat,” said Hector Ronquillo, the RGV Padel Club owner, in comments made in an EDC release.
Growing Popularity
Pickleball is a racket and paddle sport in which two to four players hit perforated and hollow plastic balls with paddles over a net. It can be played indoors or outdoors.
Pickleball was first played in the United States in 1965. It is a paddle sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton and ping-pong. The sport’s rules are simple, making it a fun and easy game to play. There are an estimated 36.5 million pickleball players in the United States. Ronquillo and his brother, Sebastian, built the Valley’s first padel ball and pickleball sports complex in McAllen last year. It has seen rapid growth since then. A July tournament held in McAllen attracted more than 100 teams.
“We had one of the best teams from the U.S. come play, and the number one player from Mexico came to play as well,” Hector Ronquillo said.
He believes the sport will see even more growth in the Valley with the new Mission facility, which will offer 18,000 square feet of court space. There will be a second floor to the facility and it will house a pro shop and bar and lounge area, with views to the playing courts below. It will be the largest of its kind facility in the Valley.