Local man inviting you to ‘fall in love’ with pickleball at Rigby venue
Published at | Updated at
RIGBY – America’s fastest growing sport has already penetrated into eastern Idaho and continues to expand its footprint.
Joshua Quiroz, 43, of Iona, is the owner of The Drop 208 Pickleball Club at 3846 East Indian Creek Loop in Rigby. It opened Nov. 16 in a 13,000-square-foot industrial building off County Line Road.
RELATED | Rigby business provides obedience training and boarding for dogs
Five pickleball courts are available to the public to come and play year-round, seven days a week. Patrons can reserve it for one-time use or join a monthly membership.
Many people who use the space are part of a league and play competitively on a regular basis.
Quiroz tells EastIdahoNews.com he “fell in love with pickleball” the first time he played it, and it was his 8-year-old daughter’s love of the game that inspired him to open the business.
“She is one of the main reasons (we’re here),” Quiroz says. “There wasn’t a lot of opportunities to play and acquire the skills. We offer a lot of stuff for the youth at our facility (for that reason).”
Quiroz says people of all ages enjoy playing the sport, and the reason it’s so popular is because it brings people together.
“It’s very social. I think people are missing that in their life,” he says. “It’s easy to pick up. We see a lot of people who have never played before and they pick up a racquet and (have the time of their life). It’s addicting.”
Its location off U.S. Highway 20 makes it highly visible, which is why this particular location was appealing to Quiroz.
Out of staters traveling through the area have seen the sign out front and stopped in to check it out, he says.
Quiroz would love to see the business expand into multiple locations. But for now, he’s happy to offer people a space where they can play year-round.
“This sport is growing so fast,” he says. “We’ve had such a good response and people are just loving it. We see it flourishing.”
The Drop 208 Pickleball Club is open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Club members have access to the building 24/7.