Hot Springs Spa City Classic brings indoor pickleball to Bank OZK Arena
Bank OZK Arena will host four days of indoor play July 30-Aug. 2, giving Hot Springs a weather-proof midsummer pickleball weekend anchored by the Spa City Classic.
Bank OZK Arena will again anchor Hot Springs’ midsummer pickleball calendar, with the Spa City Classic set for July 30 through Aug. 2 at 134 Convention Boulevard. The tournament is being framed as a broad summer draw for experienced players and developing competitors, which makes it a useful trip-builder for anyone looking to turn a bracket into a weekend in Arkansas.
The indoor venue is the real selling point. Visit Hot Springs describes Bank OZK Arena as a 6,300-seat multi-purpose facility inside the Hot Springs Convention Center, and that matters in late July when outdoor events can turn into a weather watch. At the arena, players get a controlled environment, no rain delays and a cleaner multi-day schedule, while visitors can build around downtown Hot Springs for hotel nights, meals and recovery time between matches.
The Spa City Classic has also shown it can scale. A 2022 Sentinel-Record story said the tournament drew over 400 players of all levels to Hot Springs. A 2024 story described its return to a 38-court setup at Bank OZK Arena, and a 2025 report said it drew a record 580 players to the venue. Visit Hot Springs also promoted the event as bringing more than 600 players to 36 indoor courts, a sign that the tournament has moved well beyond a small local stop.
That growth helps explain why the event keeps showing up on multiple tournament platforms and why the city is pushing it as a visitor-facing summer attraction rather than a closed club meet. Registration for the 2026 listing opened Nov. 17, 2025, giving traveling players a long runway to plan flights, lodging and partner travel around the competition window.
SouthWest Arkansas Pickleball summed up the return this way: “The Spa City Classic is BACK in 2026!” For players who want indoor pickleball in the hottest stretch of the summer, Bank OZK Arena is the kind of venue that makes Hot Springs feel less like a stopover and more like the center of the trip.
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