ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — The inaugural Martin Luther King Jr. weekend Pickleball tournament will be held in January of 2023 at the Albany Capital Center. The tournament will last three days and will look to bring in 150 athletes and officials, hoping to generate over $160K in direct visitor spending.

“We created the Albany County Sports Commission in April of this year to build upon the sporting events we consistently welcome to the MVP Arena and our County’s many sports assets,” said Albany County Executive Daniel P. McCoy. “These competitions already generate significant economic benefits for our County and in order to build on our success we need someone leading this organization who is thinking outside of the box and looking to the future. I’m excited to have a proven leader like Jay at the helm as our Sports Commissioner who will build on our strengths and also target growing markets like pickle ball and synchronized skating that will only add to the enthusiasm of our Capital Region’s athletes and fans.”

“Around the Post Pickleball” is a tournament organizer who selected Albany County to host the tournament. They will also be bringing quadball, more commonly known as “quidditch” to the Afrims Sports Complex in Colonie.

“The Sports Commission designation makes the discussions with sporting event planners easier. We begin our conversations on the right page because planners know our destination understands the nuances and wrinkles of their process,” said Jay Cloutier, sports commissioner, and director of sales at Discover Albany. “The specialty sports like Pickleball and Quadball are fun to work with because as a close-knit destination, our partners are receptive to new events and the planners are anxious to tell their story and showcase their athletes and their competitions.”