A major new sports investment is coming to East Multnomah County thanks to a pair of local businesswomen who wanted to do something special for their community.
Stayce Blume and Amelia Salvador are putting the finishing touches on East County Pickleball Courts, located in Troutdale, which will be the largest indoor pickleball venue in the state.
“We had this vision of a welcoming space where players of all skill levels could come and enjoy the sport,” Blume said.
“Just so excited to open,” Salvador added.
The final vision for the space, 27100 S.E. Stark St. in Troutdale, is ambitious: 12 courts, making for the largest indoor pickleball venue in the state, with ample space between and “hedges,” aka fences, to keep errant hits from mucking up neighboring matches.
The courts, which will be open daily, will have a speaker system to play music and add to the ambiance. The space is temperature controlled, so air conditioning in the summer and heat during the winter. And there is lots of parking.
There will be a pro shop with equipment and gear for sale/rental; lots of seating and comfortable nooks for folks to watch or wait for their next match; a grab-and-go snack bar that will also have smoothies and a liquor license; and big garage bay doors that can be opened during nice weather.
“We want this to be a big old party,” Blume said.
And that is just phase one, which is planned to be open by June. They have been making significant progress, the most recent milestone was painting the interior courtesy Ric's Cv Painting. There is a bit more red tape to deal with; the current sticking point is an expensive traffic study required by Multnomah County.
Eventually that food outfit will be expanded pending feedback from the community; and there is talk of a mezzanine/second-level view deck, that will bring even more space and opportunities to soak in the pickleball action.
“We have never played pickleball before, but now we have a reason to learn,” Salvador said. “When no one else is here we will be on the court polishing our game.”
This project started when Junki Yoshida, who owns the Troutdale Marketplace, asked Salvador Blume Properties, LLC, to find a tenant for the vacant space that would eventually house the pickleball courts.
The building was a former grocery store; then was split between a church and dance studio; and most recently was a movie production studio.
The duo brainstormed what could be done with such a large venue. They talked about an expo center or another sports hall. But the former had too many permits to deal with, and the latter kept hitting speedbumps: the rafters were too low for volleyball, and support beams prevented the space needed for indoor soccer. Through all the research and discussions, they settled on pickleball.
“We kept hearing how people would drive an hour away just to get to pickleball facilities,” Blume said.
And Yoshida had faith in the duo to make it happen, eventually asking them to not just find a tenant, but to operate the location themselves.
“It was an honor for Mr. Yoshida to give us this opportunity,” Blume said.
“He just told us, ‘Do something, I trust you,’” Salvador added.
This is the perfect time to open, with the sport exploding in popularity.
Pickleball is a racket sport in which players (singles or doubles), hit a perforated, hollow plastic ball over a center net. Think of it as an in-between of table tennis and tennis. The sport has exploded in popularity in recent years, after being invented in 1965 by our neighbors in Washington, where pickleball was just named the official state sport in 2022.
“Neither of us have any experience, but everyone we have met in the pickleball community has been so kind and supportive,” Blume said.
“Jump feet first, that is how we do things,” Salvador added with a smile.
Nothing about the Troutdale pickleball courts will be exclusive. The ownership duo wants this to be a true community resource.
Thus there will be tiered pricing to enjoy the space — an annual or monthly membership, or day-use passes.
There will also be discounts for seniors and students, and partnerships with other organizations to get as many people visiting as possible.”
“We are from this community, raise our children here, and have business ventures in East County,” Salvador said. “We want to share this space with everyone else.”
“We are excited to open,” added Blume. “All kinds of butterflies going on right now.”
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