A new $5 million pickleball facility is coming to Keller.

The Keller City Council approved an incentive agreement with Pickleball Kingdom this week to build the 44,000-square-foot project, according to the city’s Facebook page.

Keller’s incentive agreement with Pickleball Kingdom includes refunding the facility’s build permits and half of its impact fees that total $103,923. By the facility’s fifth year, Keller anticipates a 100% return on investment, the city said.

Pickleball has exploded in popularity over the last few years, but has been around since the 1960s. The game is similar to tennis in that competing players volley a ball back and forth to one another with a paddle.

The sport has attracted celebrities, including Fox & Friends host Steve Doocy, who was in Fort Worth earlier this year for National Pickleball Month.

“I am very excited to be in Fort Worth to host FOX & Friends and even more excited to be at Courtside Kitchen to celebrate National Pickleball month,” Doocy told the Star-Telegram in an email. “I had a pickleball lesson earlier this week and am looking forward to showing off my skills with the restaurant guests and discussing the sport that’s sweeping the nation!”

The $5 million Keller facility, which will be built on four acres near 957 Keller Parkway, will include locker rooms, event space, a mezzanine lounge, pro shop and 17 indoor courts.

“We were attracted to this community because of Keller’s values, quality of life, and boundless opportunities — as vast as the great state of Texas,” said Dan Jenkins, Chief Visionary Officer of Pickleball Kingdom in North Texas.

The Keller facility is the first of five North Texas locations in the works from Arizona-based — Pickleball Kingdom.

Along with Keller, Plano is the second city in the Metroplex chosen by the company for its next project. Pickleball Kingdom opened its first location in May 2022 in Chandler, Arizona.

Pickleball Kingdom will break ground on the Keller facility in early 2024.