Major League Pickleball’s first tournament, held in St. Louis last week, was “tremendously successful,” per a league spokesperson.
While full metrics of the event aren’t yet available, they already know the positive impact the multi-day tournament had both on the league and the fans.
“This was the first ever MLP event in St. Louis - and the first league event hosted in an arena - and it was spectacular,” stated a league spokesperson. “Chaifetz Arena is one of the high-end venues in which we have ever played, and it lived up to all expectations.”
The home team received merits for hosting as well.
“The Saint Louis Shock did a phenomenal job as host team, driving local marketing, event ticket sales and community engagement. This event had the highest overall marks from our multiple stakeholders - including fans, sponsors, media partners, and staff.”
The league said that playing in team markets has been great for growing the sport’s fandom, and they expect to be doing a lot more of it in the future. Additionally, they hope to garner more support with some established franchises.
“We always want to continue to do more to integrate into our events’ local communities and create awareness for the league, host team, and event. It’s in our future plans to try to partner with other local sports teams to have them attend and see pickleball for themselves, if schedules allow.”
Source: https://ny1.com/nyc/brooklyn/news/2025/07/23/major-league-pickleball-st--louis-chaifetz-arena