One of Canada’s biggest indoor pickleball and padel facilities opens in Mississauga: officials

Mississauga residents who’ve been clamouring for more pickleball courts should be happy to learn a large new facility where they can play the increasingly popular sport is now open in the city’s east end.

Offering eight indoor padel courts, seven indoor pickleball courts, an on-site café and 38-foot ceilings, The District Padel & Pickleball Club hosts its grand opening today at its 55,000-sq.-ft. “flagship facility” on Caterpillar Road, just off The Queensway East near the Toronto border.

Club officials say the new site is “one of Canada’s largest indoor padel and pickleball facilities.”

Padel, a fast-paced racquet sport that combines elements of tennis and squash, and pickleball, played on a badminton-size court using a paddle and wiffle ball and combining parts of badminton, tennis and table tennis, continue to see their popularity rise in the Greater Toronto Area — and across the country and south of the border in the U.S.

Pickleball’s increasing popularity across North America has been well documented the past five years or so.

Padel the “fastest-growing racquet sport in the world”

Officials behind The District Padel & Pickleball Club note that padel, meanwhile, “is the fastest-growing racquet sport in the world, rapidly expanding across Canada.”

They add the new facility in Mississauga, as it relates to padel, “is positioned as a central hub for player development, coaching education and community engagement in the Greater Toronto Area.”

Friday’s grand opening includes, among other on-site activities, a tour of the new facility and “beginner-friendly” padel clinics, club officials say.

Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish, Mississauga-Lakeshore MP Charles Sousa and Canadian Secretary of State for Sport Adam van Koeverden, a former Olympic gold medalist (kayak), are among the dignitaries scheduled to attend the grand opening.

Pickleball pilot program in Mississauga 

Last year at this time, the City of Mississauga launched a pilot program in response to a growing demand from residents for more pickleball access — both indoor and outdoor — in Canada’s seventh-largest city.

Through the pilot, those who want to play the fast-growing sport in the city can now register in advance for a drop-in game or several matches.

City officials said last May the pilot was expected to help manage the high demand for pickleball in Mississauga.

“Pickleball continues to be a very popular sport in Mississauga,” the city said in a news release at the time, adding the pilot program “aims to add certainty for participants while also minimizing lineups at community centres.”

Mississauga officials say people of all ages are showing an interest in pickleball. (Photo: City of Mississauga)

As of last spring, Mississauga had 84 outdoor pickleball courts at parks across the city — 58 at public courts shared with tennis, 18 at club courts and eight dedicated pickleball courts.

As for indoor pickleball, the game was offered at 10 community centres in Mississauga as of early 2025. In addition to drop-in participation, the city also offers a variety of registered indoor pickleball programs.

Beyond the pilot project, city officials said earlier they’re also looking to grow the number of pickleball courts across Mississauga in the next several years.

“The city is committed to supporting the growing popularity of pickleball and recognizes its potential to bring people together, promote physical activity and enhance the quality of life for residents.”

Pickleball, invented in the U.S. Pacific Northwest in 1965, has taken Mississauga — and North America — by storm since the COVID-19 pandemic neared its end.

In response, the city has in the past several years hopped on board the craze and attempted to make the sport more widely available to the growing number of players in Mississauga.

(Cover photo: City of Mississauga)