Players across the nation are convinced that pickleball is more than the latest fad in sports. The Town of Brunswick’s investment agrees.

In June, the Parks and Recreation department opened eight courts devoted solely to pickleball at the Midcoast Athletic and Recreation Complex (MARC).

The $1.67 million project will be completed in phases. The first phase also includes a turf field, two basketball courts, two tennis courts and two playgrounds, but only the pickleball courts, a skatepark and walking trail were completed by June.

After two years of planning and construction, the courts have lived up to the hype during the first month or so of use.

“Everyone is super pumped and excited about the new courts,” Sabrina Best, deputy director of Brunswick Parks & Recreation, said.

Some people may be annoyed by the constant thwack sound the bright yellow whiffle ball makes, but the racquet sport still grows in popularity. Earlier this year, the Sports and Fitness Industry Association announced that pickleball continues to be the fastest-growing sport in America, seeing a 223.5% increase in participants since 2020.

The statistics hold true in Brunswick. The number of people who visited the Brunswick Rec Center in 2023 to play indoor pickleball more than doubled from 2022. Both basketball courts are converted to four pickleball courts every morning for four hours and two-and-a-half hours every other weekday evening. Interest is at an all-time high, and the Midcoast Maine Pickleball Club is capitalizing on it.

“The fact that we have 16 outdoor courts in the area, and anybody can look at our schedule, put it on the refrigerator, point to it and say, ‘This is where I want to play this morning,’ is a wonderful thing,” John Coray, the pickleball club’s president, said.

The club manages six outdoor courts on Pegasus Street and two more on Neptune Street, all within a paddle’s swing of the eight courts at the MARC. While the Town of Brunswick officially operates the new courts, there is an agreement that allows MMP access to reserve four of the courts for their own members.

Rick Powell serves the ball at the MARC Pickleball Courts last month in Brunswick. Cooper Sullivan/Times Record

The Midcoast Maine Pickleball Club was involved throughout the entire process — from pitching the proposal in town council meetings, to donating $25,000 towards the project cost, helping with court designs, and of course, playing on it.

During development stages, there was a debate about whether hard-top courts should be multi-purpose, but MMP said they should be separated.

“They’re going to be busy,” Best recalls being told. And so far, they are.

Even on dreary days, the MARC courts are in use.

“These are fantastic,” Peter Muttel, an MMP member said on a rainy day in late July. “I think their biggest regret is going to be not building more.”

One thing Coray and Best are both excited about is the possibility of outdoor tournaments. The Brunswick Rec Center already hosts monthly indoor tournaments and wants to expand. June 22 was supposed to be the grand opening outdoor tournament, but it was rained out. It has since been rescheduled for Saturday, Aug. 17.

Some MMP members will play in any weather conditions.

“The record this past year was 8 degrees,” Rick Powell, the club’s former president, said proudly on the rainy July day. “The sun was out, there was no wind, it’s not that bad.”

There’s no need to worry about snow, yet. Best calls this summer a “soft opening” of sorts, as the Rec Center observes overall usage and figures out the best scheduling and rental practices.

Competitive or casual, all parties agree that the courts will attract another demographic of pickleballers to the area. Best wouldn’t be surprised if members from other communities started travelling to Brunswick to play. Powell already knows of people from Portland and Augusta who do.

“We have a chance in our community to become the pickleball capital of Maine,” Coray said.