New Westside Pickleball Club in Almonte aims to meet soaring community demand
Mississippi Mills residents will soon have a brand-new place to practice one of Canada’s fastest-growing sports. Westside Pickleball Club, a dedicated four-court indoor facility located at 340 Frank Davis Street, is set to open in January 2026 — and founder Sara West says the project was born directly from a gap she felt as a player herself.
“I started playing about three years ago, and as soon as I got more serious, I noticed there was a distinct lack of places to play,” West told Lanarkist. “It became the main topic of conversation on and off the courts. Everyone was trying to book limited court time, and public spaces were inconsistent or first-come-first-serve.”
With pickleball participation exploding across Canada — especially among multi-generational families and active older adults — available indoor court time has become increasingly scarce in many communities. West said that for a sport where players want to be on the court “two to three hours at a time, multiple days a week,” the demand far outpaced local capacity.
West, who grew up in Almonte and Carleton Place, told Lanarkist that the idea to open a pickleball court in the area came into focus during a brainstorming session with her brother.
“One day we were sitting at his dining room table sketching out court layouts, and that same day we drove around looking for buildings,” she said. That was in April 2024 — the start of what she describes as a steep learning curve in business planning, commercial real estate, and financing.
West said it wasn’t always easy to be taken seriously in her pursuit. “I struggled — partly because I had never done anything like this before and partly because landlords weren’t sure about the business of pickleball. The U.S. has thousands of facilities, but Canada is behind the trend,” she elaborated.
After months of searching around the Ottawa region, the perfect space surfaced back home. “As soon as I found 340 Frank Davis, it was a ‘goldilocks’ building — the right size, high ceilings, great parking, and a landlord willing to take a chance,” West said.
The new facility will feature four dedicated pickleball courts, a lounge space, and year-round climate-controlled play — something highly welcomed by both recreational and competitive players. West says she hopes the club will become more than a place just to play pickleball, but also a social hub for like minded individuals.
“Pickleballers are very social. They love events like tournaments, and that opens the doors to amazing partnerships,” she said. “This opens the doors for a lot of natural partnerships and pop-ups. Establishing myself as a local business that supports other local businesses and the community is very important to me.”
According to the club’s official announcement, residents will finally have access to consistent, bookable indoor court time — a significant shift from the patchwork system of school gyms, shared community centres and outdoor courts quickly overwhelmed by interest.
Membership pre-sales are already open through the club’s website, with the official grand opening date expected in early January 2026.
More information can be found at www.westsidecourts.com.