KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Overland Park may soon join the list of cities across the country with a facility dedicated to “pádel ball,” an increasingly popular sport similar to pickle ball.
On Monday, the Overland Park Planning Commission is set to review a proposal that would include four indoor and two outdoor pádel ball courts on the northeast corner of the intersection of W. 77th Street and Floyd.
A pádel court is in an enclosed space, with walls made of glass, which players can use to return shots, giving an added dimension of play compared to tennis and pickle ball. The sport is played with two players on each side.
Another key difference between pádel ball and pickle ball is the type of ball used. In pádel, the ball is more the feel of a tennis ball. That’s a key difference from the perforated plastic ball in pickle ball, which has come under criticism in residential neighborhoods for its loud click sound.
Nonetheless, developers behind the downtown Overland Park plan completed a sound study, which concluded that the facility wouldn’t generate any sound in excess of sound that already exists in the neighborhood from traffic.
Planning commissioners are set to review the proposal at 1:30 p.m. on Monday, June 10 at Overland Park City Hall. City staff have recommended approval for the project.
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