It’s a cozy Music City combo, Nashville Sounds baseball plus pickleball at First Horizon Park.
Pickleball Paddle Night at the stadium should have been the clue that something was up. But it wasn’t until late in the game that we realized where this was all heading. The Nashville Sounds took inspiration from the Boston Red Sox, who opened up Fenway Park to fans for a “non-baseball event” during the All-Star break.
Like in Boston, where that “non-baseball event” = pickleball, Nashville-area fans saw this graphic flashing earlier this month at First Horizon Park: Winter Pickleball, November through March 2024. Wow!
It will happen thanks to a collaboration between the Sounds and the Dinkville, a local pickleball community. Founded in July of 2022, Dinkville is the #1 pickleball organization locally in an area where pickleball is the fastest-rising game. Dinkville organizes play in leagues, tournaments, and open court.
Jillian Eliza performing at First Horizon Park (photo courtesy, Music City Nashville)
We like the sound of that!
We also liked the sound of musician Jillian Eliza, a country music singer-songwriter from Nashville, who was the featured opening act on the night the baseball-pickleball marriage was announced. Elza has shared the stage with the likes of Luke Combs, Brett Eldredge, Lee Brice, Travis Tritt, the late Joe Diffie, Granger Smith, Ashley McBryde, Midland, Wynonna Judd, Jordan Davis, Thompson Square, Jimmie Allen, Kip Moore, and many more. No wonder she looked so right at home in a stadium setting.
While there will always be “The Hot Stove League” over the winter, now we have (in Nashville at least) Winter Pickleball at First Horizon Park. Hurray!
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Related Links: For more information on the NASHVILLE SOUNDS and the other organizations mentioned, please visit the following links – Nashville Sounds | First Horizon Park | Jillian Eliza | Dinkville | Baseball in Nashville Never Sounded So Good As the Hot Chickens Take the Field at First Horizon Park
