(The majority of the Pacific Northwest Classic Pickleball Tournament took place at Pine Nursery Park | Photos courtesy of Bend Pickleball Club)
Bend Pickleball Club recently wrapped up its Pacific Northwest Classic Pickleball Tournament sponsored by Beaver Coach Sales, and about 800 players from around the country came to Central Oregon to participate, bringing family and friends along with them. This translates to a large influx of business to the region, including lodging, restaurant and service-related sales.
“We are thinking there were easily 3,000 people passing through the park over the five days,” says Christie Gestvang, co-director of the tournament. “We had approximately 345 from in-state, but only about 120 were locals from Central Oregon. Those others all stayed in our local hotels, Airbnb rentals, RV parks, etc. And all the out-of-staters, about 450 of them, also came in and ate, drank, stayed in hotels, engaged in tourism, etc.” She adds, “You can easily see that millions of dollars came in from the tournament.”
The 2020 Pacific Northwest Classic sponsored by Beaver Coach Sales (PNC) was canceled due to COVID-19, but this year’s tournament came back bigger than ever. The event offered a $25k purse, and was co-hosted by Northwest pickleball pros Wes Gabrielson and Erik Lange. Pacific Northwest Classic is also part of the APP Tour, an international 18-tournament series, of which PNC is the Tour’s only Northwest stop.
The tournament took place July 28 through August 1 at two locations: Pine Nursery Park and the Pickleball Zone, both in Bend. This year’s players ranged in age from 11 to 85, which reinforces pickleball’s broad appeal and growing popularity, says Co-director Kirk Foster. “Pickleball is still the fastest-growing sport in the United States, and for good reason. It’s fun, it’s easy to learn and it’s a great way to socialize while getting some exercise,” he says. The majority of the tournament took place on the 16 courts at Pine Nursery Park, adds Gestvang. “The other eight courts at the Pickleball Zone were the overflow,” she says. “The two locations are not even five minutes apart, so players were still able to socialize, watch their friends, etc.”
Beaver Coach Sales signed on as title sponsor for the 2020 event, so this tournament has been in the works for almost two years, Gestvang explains. “Beaver Coach Sales came on early; we put out a sponsor packet, and we worked out a mutually agreeable contract. We are hoping this will continue as a three-year sponsorship.” A number of other local businesses also supported the tournament, she says, including Mike’s Fencing Center, Pickleball Zone, The Center, Humana, Sunriver River Brewing Company; Central Oregon Pickleball Magazine, Cascade Business News and others. “We’ve got a lot of other vendors, large companies like Onix, Pickleball Central, Pickleball Rocks, HEAD Pickleball, Selkirk Sport and Pickleball Planet.” Local food vendors were also on hand during the tournament each day, she says, with four different vendors in attendance with pop-up tents or food trucks. “We do support the local businesses pretty well with our tournament,” she adds. “Not to mention all the other services we utilize to get this event ready, like Sign Pro.”
Gestvang says that Bend Pickleball Club tracked data during this tournament so that next year, organizers will be able to use the hard data in procuring interest and sponsorships. “People come in a week before the tournament. They come out to Pine Nursery Park or other venues as tourists and to play pickleball. Then they stay an extra week,” she says. “Visit Bend did data collection during the Oregon Senior Games; it’s pretty impressive to see how long people actually stay for these types of events. We’ll be looking at this data following this tournament, and will have hard data to use for next year.” She adds, “Nearly 75 percent of the PNC players came from outside of Central Oregon, and about 60 percent traveled from out of state, which really demonstrates a growing enthusiasm for this particular tournament.”
Founded in 2011, Bend Pickleball Club has a membership of more than 900 and is growing. The mission of the nonprofit club is “To facilitate the growth of pickleball in Central Oregon for the enjoyment, health and social engagement of all players by offering organized recreational and competitive play, ensuring opportunities for the continued development of all players in a collegial and sportsmanlike environment and working to expand facilities as needed.”
