Wichita Falls approves Pickleball Hanger expansion, adding four new courts

Wichita Falls just gave Pickleball Hanger a bigger stage. The city’s Construction Board of Adjustments and Appeals approved a nearly 12,000-square-foot expansion on Wednesday, April 22, adding four new courts and effectively doubling the indoor facility at 5200 Henry S. Grace Freeway. The vote was 6-3, and it lets construction move ahead without interruption while the city’s code dispute plays out in the background.

The hearing turned on one question: whether the addition needs a fire suppression system under the city’s building-code interpretation. Fabian Medellin, the city’s director of development services, has described the board as quasi-judicial, and that made the decision more than a routine building sign-off. The project filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation lists the addition as an $800,000 job, with a start date of Sept. 15, 2025, and a completion date of April 15, 2026.

For Pickleball Hanger owner Amanda Chandler, the case for growth was simpler than the code fight. She said the business has roughly quadrupled over the last three years, a pace that helps explain why a four-court addition matters in a city that wants to be more than a stopover on the pickleball map. Chandler has also turned the venue into more than a court rental space, using it for fundraiser tournaments, local-charity events and senior classes. That mix is exactly what many indoor clubs need now, because the businesses that last are the ones that can fill courts with leagues, events and bookings all week long.

Pickleball Hanger opened in 2023 with beginner lessons on Mondays at 6 p.m. and hours from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., seven days a week. Those details matter now because the expansion is not just about more square footage, but about more court time for players who are already competing for slots. If the extra courts do what Chandler expects, Wichita Falls could keep more local players from driving elsewhere for open play, league nights and tournament weekends.

The timing also fits a larger market push. USA Pickleball’s 2024 growth report said the sport added 4,000 new locations last year and reached 68,458 known courts, while the Sports and Fitness Industry Association said pickleball stayed the fastest-growing sport in the country for the fourth straight year. In Texas, one 2024 industry estimate said the state will need 2,527 courts and $88.5 million in investment over the next five to seven years to keep up with demand. Wichita Falls already has additional play at Falls Town Courts at Weeks Park, including beginner Intro to Pickleball events, so the question is no longer whether the city has a pickleball scene. It is whether Pickleball Hanger can become the place regional players travel to when they want indoor court time that is harder to find elsewhere.