'A Seminal Moment': The PPA Tour Set an Attendance Record in Mesa

The PPA Tour Carvana Mesa Cup just concluded in Arizona, an event that saw surprising results, major upsets and several dramatic moments.

It was a historic event – and it played out in front of record crowds.

The six-day event at the Arizona Athletic Grounds was a "seminal moment in professional pickleball," the PPA Tour announced today, "with record-breaking attendance revenue and more attendees than an average ‘23-’24 regular season NBA and NHL game."

A whopping 18,965 attendees turned out, the largest pickleball event in the venue’s history.

“The 2025 Carvana Mesa Cup will go down in history as one of the greatest pickleball events ever,” said Connor Pardoe, founder and CEO of the Carvana PPA Tour. “Our first-ever PPA Tour event was here in Mesa five years ago, so it was a real pinch-me moment to see how far we’ve come. Every day, the grounds and stands were packed with passionate pickleball fans, and the energy was palpable from first ball to last.”

From humble beginnings to history-making crowds.

🚨 18,965 fans packed the Carvana Mesa Cup this weekend! 🚨

That’s more than the avg. NBA or NHL game. Ticket revenue? Over $300K 🙌

The sport is growing. The PPA Tour is leading the charge. Who's coming to our next stop? 👀

📲… pic.twitter.com/HxTywhd5n7
— Carvana PPA Tour (@PPAtour) February 25, 2025

Ticket revenue surpassed $300,000. The nearly 19,000 paying attendees is more, the PPA Tour touted, than the average regular season game attendance in the NHL (17,448) and NBA (18,315).

Reports from the Mesa Cup all agree that it was buzzing with activity and excitement, with many of the bigger matches being standing room only.

All that being said, 18,000 fans watching an NBA game is a bit different from that same amount of people purchasing tickets for a multi-day pickleball event. But hey, a record is a record. And this one is well-deserved.