BARTLESVILLE PICKLE BALL CLASSIC

Good morning, good morning, good morning, and welcome, welcome, welcome in. It is time now for our community connection on K one, the one you trust, and today we have Kumar and Maria and we're going to talk a little bit about pickleball and its impact on our fair community.

How we done, kids?

Good?

Awesome? Yeah?

Thanks Tom?

Well, my goodness is what is year five of the four five? Yes? Correct? Tell us a little bit about.

This, Okay, So we started this, like you said, five years ago. We had a tremendous participation rate over the years. It's only keep growing every year. This year we're right around two hundred and twenty players coming from many states, mostly from Oklahoma, but we have from Kansas, Arkansas, Missouri, Texas and probably you know from some of the other states. But yeah, it's a great turnout. It's October eighteenth through the twentieth at Hillcrest Country Club Tennis Complex.

And that is very very nice. Now, Maria, you always tell us because she's with visit barblesfelt. Yeah, it all starts off with a visit, that's right, and we've got a lot of people coming in to visit how this impact does.

So I was just looking up those numbers because the pickleball tournament has been fantastic. It's somewhere between seventy five and one hundred people that are spending the night for two to three nights. So of course they're all going out to eat, they're staying in hotels. I'm sure someone may accidentally have a pickleball accident, so maybe they've got to go to Walgreens and get a band aid or something.

Yeah, exactly.

And so that is just a really significant amount of fiscal impact. So, you know, there's a couple of different things that we measure when we talk about visitors coming into the community, and one of those is that economic impact, which is the big ripple effect, and you know, it pays all the different and.

We really like to talk we love to talk about that.

It's a great number, but we love to talk about that fiscal impact, the tax dollars that are coming back, the way that the community members see that money coming back into the community.

And so when we have events.

Like I mean, I would like to have a pickleball tournament two or three times a year, Kumar.

Yeah, come on, buddy, what do you do it here?

Yeah, I mean, that would be just a really huge impact for us. But as it is, having one and having them in our hotels going out to eat, I mean it's a significant impact.

I can't find that exact number.

I wasn't ready for that particular question, but it has been really, really good.

Hundreds of thousands of dollars that have come in the numbers.

I remember you sharing with me last time was somewhere between two fifty and three hundred thousand.

Yeah, that's the fift weekend.

Yeah, yeah, good weekend.

And then so that's just a way to keep.

Our economy going. You know, we have so many great people that live here and work here and do things. But when we bring people in from out of town and we use their tax dollars, you know, then that's helping our infrastructure and relieving the burden from our citizens.

And so we love to host people. We love to have things like that happening. We have a lot happening this weekend too, So.

And Kumar, again, this is the fifth year for the pickleball tournament. I remember several years ago when I had you and Kent Stroman in here, right and I had to ask you what is pickleball? And now they're televising you know, World Championships TV.

It's huge.

Yeah, yeah, I mean it's it's the fastest growing cup sport in the United States. It's growing at a phenomenal rate of you know, anywhere between twenty twenty five to thirty percent a year. And you know, the beauty about the sport, as you know, is, you know, it's it's for all ages. It is no matter what size of shape you are in. You know, you see grandparents playing with grand grandchildren and husband and wife, brother, sister. You know, it's a it's a great family activity and it.

Brings groups together.

And as I as many people have asked me, you know, what is it that you enjoy about the sport.

It's the social aspect of it. Yeah.

I've made more friends through pickleball than anything else combined, you know, So it's it's really phenomenal.

Well, you know you've got ahead of this and you know, congratulations on doing that because your timing, which is perfect.

We now have pickleball courts, yes, all over town. We got at least.

Wells on at Sooner Park thanks to the City of Bartlepool and the citizens who voted for it in the twenty twenty bond election. And that's been constructed and was opened about a few months ago. And you go there, go there on any given night.

It's packed. It is, it's packed.

With players, and it's so satisfying to see that growing here and it makes an impact of having people not only enjoy the sport, but an incentive for them to live and work and play here.

Absolutely right.

I mean, anyone that's coming for this event may be considering retiring at some point, and knowing what kind of amenities we have in our community just makes a huge difference, and pickleball is definitely one of those.

So credit to Kumar.

Yeah, I don't want to take all the community with this expanding.

I noticed we also have other courts that modify their tennis courts.

Just for pickleball from time to time too.

Now, with all this kind of growing up around, you know, this tournament that you launched twive years ago, do you see the tournament getting any bigger with more access.

To more So, what I'm seeing is there are more and more tournaments cropping up all the time, and that has affected the long term tournaments too. So it's almost seems like, you know, any anywhere you turn around, there's a tournament every weekend in this area and and so it's it's it's phenomenal. I mean there's now there's a new format of play called Minor League Major and Minor League pick a Ball, which is a team format team of four players, and that has made a huge impact

And yes, it's pretty.

Yeah, lots of money are coming is coming into this.

I'm gonna pose, are we ready for pro pickleball?

What I really want is I'm looking at the.

Executive general manager right here, right what's the name of.

That place in Wichita chicken in Yeah, I want the place where I can have food and watch my friends.

Let's get there first and then I'm ready.

I'm ready for the tournament. Yeah.

I think we have a market for it. Yeah, Oh my goodness.

You know, I just like I said, just a couple of days ago, I was hearing that one of the sports channels, I believe it's ESPN, is going to be having like the World Series of Pickleball, And I don't know how they got where they are to determine a national champion. But they're televising this and I'm I was just kind of grinning. I'm just thinking myself, well five years ago to call guys came in and said, hey, have you ever heard of pickleball?

And look at.

That it's really since COVID, since twenty twenty that this really has skyrocketed and and and now yeah, you're right, ESPN is broadcasting pro games and more and more. You know, people are hungry for for for pick a ball and getting more and more activities into it.

Now do we have but tickets for this or.

Is this a kind of it's a free event of course players players, Yeah, players have to register and of course registration is closed. But spectators, you know, we're welcome. We're welcoming them and have them come and visit us and see see the fund that's going on at Hill Christ.

Now, Maria, we have all kinds of things in our community to draw people.

This is this is one of them. This is a really good one too.

But the thing is that every time we have one of these of ripple effects, and what a beautiful ripple they are. Yeah, these are big pluses, like the outline them.

Yeah, absolutely, And if I may, I just want to talk about some of the other things that are happening in Bartlesville. Like you said, they're all kind of a ripple effect. Here's another one that has grown over the last five years, the Gathering at the Rock, which is the car show that takes place this weekend. They have a reliability run. They are all hot rods. They are literally coming from all over the world. I think there

And this event started it was because of COVID.

They were looking for a place to have this car show five years ago and they wanted to be able to have it somewhere where they could have it outside where they would kind of be away from the big city. And so the organizers chose Bartlesville. And so this year is the Gathering at the Rock. I think they have four hundred and fifty cars, So you can go out to Woola Rock on Saturday and see these incredible cars.

Judge.

Yeah, oh I'm a judge. To Tom, that's right, we're judges. Well, we'll have to plan on that for sure. It will be fun.

I love it that Trey said it'll take about fifteen minutes and I said, no, it's not.

Yeah.

I was like, no, those kids aren't gonna get it.

But you know, Boofest is coming up, the gathering at the Rock. There's so much that's happening. Oh, super cute event called bark Littlesville Haunted Halloween Party for dogs and you can go and get your picture taken with your dog dressed in costume. It's just a fun, silly thing. Go to visit Bartlesville dot com and you'll find it. Of course, Dracula this is this weekend, the ballet and oh yeah, and I can't wait to see it.

It just sounds so beautiful. And then the Ghost Walk is next week. So you know, here's my thought.

I know that someone that's coming for the pickleball tournament may not be able to go to all of these events, but if they go to our calendar for something else, or they're looking for thanks. They can see that we are an active, vibrant community. We have a lot of things going on, a lot of choices for people, and I think that makes a difference when you're looking for a place to either visit or come and move to stay.

Like she says Kumar, it starts with a visit.

Yeah, that's right, that's what I want to have it. Do a quick plug in for our sponsors.

Let's do that.

Yeah. Our best bank has been in our tournament sponsor for for all five years and they're continuing to do so and visit Bartleville is a major sponsor, American Heritage Bank, and so we wouldn't be able to do this tournament without the help of our sponsors. And we do things that are above and beyond what a typical tournament is, you know, with free shirts, free lunch, prize money for

I want to thank you both for being here. I know this is the mornings could be a challenge. I want to thank you both and thank you again for listening and watching our program.

Right here on Kwan thanks to good Time. Hi, I'm quinship