Pickleball Kingdom Lynnwood celebrates grand opening, serving fun and community connection

​Pickleball enthusiasts in Lynnwood and nearby communities have a new place to play and challenge other players at Pickleball Kingdom, which held a grand opening Friday afternoon at 3115 196th St. S.W. Formerly home to Bed Bath & Beyond, the 37,000-square-foot facility holds 12 courts, a community room, a dink wall to practice swings, a locker area and three unisex showers.

Each court also has an instant-replay feature that shows the last 40 seconds of the game so players can watch part of their last match. Players can also download and save the videos on their phone.

Siblings and PickleBall Kingdom franchise owners John and Mara Hylton cut the ribbon with Mayor Christine Frizzell, who is an enthusiastic pickleball player.

“I’m so happy to have another venue in our city and energizes our community,” Frizzell said.

After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Frizzell served the first game with Mara Hylton.

In addition to hosting tournaments, kids camps, leagues and social and corporate events, Mara Hylton said that Pickleball Kingdom does a free, one-hour beginners lesson twice a day with up to six players.

“We give you a paddle, we put you with a coach,” she said. “[This] not only helps building the existing pickleball community or growing it, we can create more players here because we also can do it seven days a week. We have a great staff.”

Mara said that she and John became involved with Pickleball Kingdom in late 2023 after John had met and befriended Pickleball Kingdom founder Ace Rodrigues in Arizona. Later, John called her about turning a building that he owned in West Seattle into an indoor pickleball court.

“He ended up selling that [building because it was] too small, but it gave him the idea to get into it,” Mara said. 

Pickleball is a paddle sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton and ping-pong. Unlike tennis, it is played on a smaller court with a perforated plastic ball and lightweight paddles.

Pickleball was invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island by three dads – then-U.S. Congressman Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell and Barney McCallum – who wanted to create a fun game for their families. Using leftover sports equipment, they improvised a game on a badminton court with a lowered net, wooden paddles and a plastic ball. 

What started as a backyard pastime became a popular, competitive sport. According to USA Pickleball, 4,000 pickleball courts were added in 2024, bringing a total of 15,910 courts nationwide.

“Whether it’s raining or [sunny], people can still play pickleball. They can play it indoors. They don’t have to worry about the wind, and they get to be active,” said Tammy Dunn, executive director of the Snohomish County Sports Commission, who attended the grand opening. “And it’s about active, healthy lifestyles, and just to go and recreate. And they can do it with their families as well because kids can learn how to play pickleball.”

Dunn said she noticed that pickleball’s popularity increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. “With pickleball being the official sport in the state of Washington, I think more people learn how to play because they were trying to be active, and they couldn’t play their normal sport,” she said. “It’s great for individuals that are 50 plus because you’re not having to move so much, and you’re using hand coordination and with quickness, and it’s sometimes easier on the body. And I know that for a fact. Running up and down the court is harder for me. Playing pickleball is a little bit easier on my knees and on my hips.”

In 2022, Washington state officially declared pickleball the state sport, recognizing its roots and growing popularity across the region. On Thursday, April 24, the special license plates bills, SB 5444 and HB 1368 – including the Pickleball State Sport license plate – were approved, marking the end of a three-year effort.

“They started out as one license plate, but we combined it with all the license plates that we’re trying to pass because no one has passed a license plate in three years,” said Seattle Metro Pickleball Association Vice President Kate Van Gent, who attended the grand opening. 

Van Gent had worked with State Sen. John Lovick in 2021 to pass SB 5615 to make pickleball an official state sport.

“For those of us who work from home or tend to be isolated, this is a way to get out and meet people and socialize,” she said. “The sport gave me so much I wanted to give back. It has a way of inspiring people to give back to the community, you know.”

Mara Hylton said that she sees Pickleball Kingdom as a center for community in Lynnwood.

“We’ve watched people become friends where they otherwise wouldn’t be because of pickleball,” Mara said. “So now that we have this location in this area, we can have people meeting fellow pickleball players that maybe they don’t play at their neighborhood parks. It’s almost like the center of which we can have so many pickleball players at one time with our open plays four times a day. They’re going to be meeting players that they wouldn’t meet if they’re just playing at their local parks.”

​Pickleball Kingdom in Lynnwood is open daily from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. with four daily open-play sessions. Visit the website for more information.