Strip hotel-casino to host pickeball tournament in 3-year deal
America’s fastest-growing sport is swinging its way onto the Strip.
Fontainebleau will host the Strip’s first Professional Pickleball Association tournament in an exclusive agreement with the league and the Carvana PPA Tour. The event will be held Aug. 27 through Sept. 1.
“We are thrilled to be the exclusive home to the PPA Tour Las Vegas Pickleball Cup, the first of its kind on the Strip,” Fedor Banuchi, the north Strip resort’s senior vice president of entertainment, said in a Thursday press release. “We pride ourselves on being industry-leaders in the live event, sporting and entertainment space, so to be able to play host to one of the fastest-growing sports in the world is an honor. We can’t wait to welcome guests for an absolutely exhilarating week of luxury and sportsmanship.”
The six-day tournament will be held inside at the 105,000 square-foot Royal Ballroom, a pillarless carpeted ballroom. The tournament will also host a 1,000-person amateur event.
“The Carvana PPA Tour continues to offer the most spectacular events for fans of and participants in the sport of pickleball, and the Las Vegas Pickleball Cup at the Fontainebleau will raise the bar in that regard,” PPA Tour Founder and CEO Connor Pardoe said in the release. “Pros, amateurs and fans will be able to have the exclusive opportunity to experience the most luxurious resort on the Strip and walk to compete on the grandest stage the sport has to offer.”
Registration is $95 for players with a $40 event fee per each entry. Spectator tickets are now on sale online for $25. The resort is offering special rates for event goers.
Fontainebleau, a luxury 67-story property developed by the owners of its sister property on Miami Beach, opened in December.
Other stops on the PPA Tour include Washington, D.C.; Orange County, California and Salt Lake City, Utah, according to the ticketing site. The tour also returns to Las Vegas for the Guaranteed Rate Las Vegas Open on Oct. 10-13 at Darling Tennis Center.
Contact McKenna Ross at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on X.