PickleCon 2026 brings amateur pickleball festival to Kansas City
PickleCon opened at Kansas City Convention Center with 350,000 square feet of play, from open sessions and clinics to pro-ams, glow-in-the-dark action and team showdowns.
PickleCon opened Friday at the Kansas City Convention Center, turning more than 350,000 square feet in downtown Kansas City into a three-day pickleball festival running through Sunday at 5 p.m. The venue listing put the start at 8 a.m. Friday, and the setup was built less like a single tournament and more like a full indoor stop for rec players, families and amateurs chasing a bigger stage.
Visit KC called PickleCon the “ultimate all-inclusive pickleball experience,” while PickleCon’s own promotional materials described the 2026 edition as a “premiere pickleball festival complete with tournaments, open play, and endless entertainment.” An Instagram post tied to the event added that the weekend would include tournaments, open play, vendors, pro and influencer showcases, celebrity matchups and nonstop entertainment.
That mix was the point. The event description packed tournament play, open play, pro-ams, exhibitions, clinics, skill challenges, a vendor village, networking opportunities and social events into one calendar. For recreational players, that meant a single badge or pass could lead to court time, a chance to watch higher-level matches, and access to the equipment and instruction side of the sport without having to choose one format over another.
The competitive menu reinforced that approach. PickleCon’s tournament listings included PickleCon Amateur, USSP North Regional Championship at PickleCon, NJP Team Showdown, Midwest Regional Showdown, Glow in the Dark and KC Social Pickleball. That spread gave the weekend something for players who wanted bracketed competition, players who wanted lighter social formats, and players drawn to novelty events that keep the atmosphere moving from day to night.
The building itself fit the event’s scale. The Kansas City Convention Center page said parking was available in the Municipal Auditorium parking garage under Barney Allis Plaza, and Downtown Kansas City information pointed visitors toward directions, parking, hotels and ways to move around the city. That matters for an event like this, where indoor space can protect long court schedules, vendor setups and spectator flow from weather.
Visit KC also promoted the weekend with a giveaway for a weekend player pass, underlining how PickleCon blends participation and tourism. In a sport that has grown quickly at the amateur level, the Kansas City format showed how a pickleball event can operate as a one-roof festival, not just a bracket sheet, with enough variety to pull in first-timers, rec players and serious competitors at the same time.
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