PPA Campus at Arizona Athletic Grounds: A New Pickleball Hub
The PPA Campus at Arizona Athletic Grounds will bring year-round tournaments, training, amateur programming, and venue investment to a 41-court Mesa facility.
A major new chapter for American pickleball is taking shape in Mesa, Arizona. Arizona Athletic Grounds and the Carvana PPA Tour have finalized a multi-decade partnership that will turn the facility into the PPA Campus at Arizona Athletic Grounds. The announcement positions the site as more than a stop on the professional calendar: it is planned as a year-round home for tournaments, training, amateur play, junior development, and community experiences.
What the partnership changes
The PPA Tour will assume year-round operations of the pickleball facility at Arizona Athletic Grounds, a venue it already uses for major events. The campus currently includes 41 pickleball courts, four medal courts with spectator stands, and a covered Championship Stadium court with seating for as many as 2,000 spectators. That combination gives the site room to serve different audiences at once, from high-level competition and broadcast sessions to instruction and recreational programming.
The site will continue to host marquee PPA Tour events, including the Carvana Mesa Cup and the Veolia Arizona Open. The expanded operating role also creates room for additional tournaments and ongoing programs rather than concentrating activity into a few event weeks. For players, that could mean a more consistent training and competition environment; for spectators, it creates a venue designed around both major finals and regular programming.
Investment in a year-round venue
The agreement includes a significant capital investment funded by the PPA Tour. The announced improvements include additional shade, more seating, and other upgrades intended to support play throughout the year. That focus matters in Mesa, where heat and sun can shape how long players, families, officials, and spectators can comfortably remain outdoors.
The partnership therefore links operations with infrastructure. Running the courts year-round is one part of the plan; making the grounds more usable for long tournament days, training blocks, and amateur events is another. The announcement says further details will follow, with many new initiatives planned to launch in early 2027. It does not yet provide a complete schedule or a final list of those initiatives, so those details should be treated as forthcoming rather than assumed.
Why the Mesa pickleball community is central
Arizona Athletic Grounds is already a major sports and live-entertainment destination that attracts visitors from beyond the local area. The new campus name reflects an effort to connect that broader venue with the PPA’s professional and amateur programming expertise. The stated goal is to support the local, regional, and national pickleball community, not simply to add another championship court.
For local players, the most meaningful test will be how the promised programming translates into access: training opportunities, amateur competitions, junior experiences, and well-run public sessions. For touring professionals, the facility offers a stable base with dedicated competition infrastructure. For fans, the covered stadium and medal courts can make high-level matches easier to watch in a purpose-built setting.
The PPA Campus at Arizona Athletic Grounds is still an evolving project. The partnership is finalized, the 41-court facility and major court features are identified, and investment in shade and seating has been announced. The next milestone is the release of the initiatives and operating details expected for early 2027. Until then, the clearest takeaway is straightforward: Mesa is being developed as a year-round center where professional events, training, amateur play, and the surrounding pickleball community can share the same venue.
