Payson, Illinois. Pickleball is quite popular in Payson, but many are sick of traveling to Quincy to locate a court.
By the end of the summer, Payson should have its own courts.
This past winter, the Payson Seymour Athletic Club raised money for the courts by holding chuck-a-duck competitions and a gun raffle before home basketball games. Early in June, club members completed the demolition of an old tennis court east of the high school baseball field, and on June 19, Hagerbaumer Construction poured concrete for two pickleball courts.
According to Lucas Brass, a spokesperson of the Athletic Club, the concrete must cure for a month before being painted. He said the club has been working on the new courts for almost a year, and he hopes they will be ready for play by the first week of August.
Since we began, we have raised around $13,000 or $14,000, and we still have a few things we would like to do, but the community has responded incredibly well, Brass added.
The group wants to raise about $20,000, he added, and sponsorship levels ranging from $250 to $1,000 are still available.
Brass stated, “We don’t mind doing the labor if there is a fencing company out there that would be willing to help us out with fencing materials.” When that is finished, we will make sure to collect the logos of all the sponsors and acknowledge them on the pickleball courts as a way of saying thank you.
According to Brass, the courts are meant for general use, but once they are finished, they will belong to the Payson School District. In a village of about 1,100 residents, the sport is so popular that some have built their own courts.
According to Brass, a man from the bank purchased a net to be placed on this somewhat level concrete lot near to the elementary school. Three or four days a week, he and his family are the only ones that play there, along with a few retired women. A pickleball court has been painted in the shop of a guy and his spouse who live outside of town. Two or three days a week, they play there.
It merely demonstrates the sport’s widespread appeal and the fact that age is essentially irrelevant. People still discuss how they played pickleball with longtime teacher Rita Speckhart in junior high and high school, and they have somewhat witnessed the sport’s comeback. People in their 60s to 70s who play a lot are searching for a location to go that doesn’t need them to drive into Quincy. They can play right here in town, which is great for them because it allows them to save gas.
How soon has pickleball become a popular sport?
According to the 2025 Sports, Fitness, and Leisure Activities Topline Participation Report, 19.8 million Americans played pickleball in 2024, a 45.8% increase over 2023 and a 311 percent rise on average over three years.
