Welcome to Billy McGehee's Wild WORLD OF PICKLEBALL!
After four decades of playing, promoting and managing professional sports, Billy McGehee enters the pickleball arena with a plan to continue growing the sport globally. “We are assembling a team of professionals whose goals will be to: establish our brand as a premiere brand in the sport, build additional pickelball facilities to accommodate the millions of players who will enter the sport over the next 5 years, provide management services and certified professional coaches for these facilities, partner with corporations interested in educating, promoting and marketing the sport, host camps, clinics and special events, create exciting promotions and finally team-up with charities who are dedicated to making the world a better and safer place. I believe the sport of pickleball can become the largest racket sport in history because it has no boundaries, anyone can play the game from children to a 90-year-old adult. Whether you’re a beginner or a professional, want to play competitively or just for fun, this sport affords everyone the opportunity to be active, socialize and have fun! Most importantly, it’s affordable for everyone.” Billy McGehee
To Receive Information on Upcoming Events Please Register Below
NEWS & SPECIAL EVENTS
Nashville Special Event!
This past week in Nashville has been nothing short of spectacular! Our Nashville team is coming together and our July “Special Event” is taking shape!
A very special thanks to the Loews Vanderbilt Hotel for hosting us all week! We had great meetings with SportCourt, Music City Pickleball Club, two top sports organizations, over a dozen local businesses, music industry professionals, three more magnificent Charities and most importantly, our incredible Title Sponsor!
This summer WE are going to have fun, fun, fun til your daddy takes your pickleball paddle away!
Get ready Nashville our announcement is coming in just a few weeks!
Make sure to register at www.BMWOPB.com to receive details!
Let’s Get Wild!
Bringing a Global Pickleball Event to Nashville
My journey to bring a Global Pickleball Event to Nashville began three years ago in 2019 when I traveled here to meet with Stephanie and Andy Lane. Tonight, as I walked the Wild and Glittering Broadway, an incredible wave of nostalgia washed over me. I thought back to those magnificent years when the Nashville Kats Arena Football team exploded upon Nashville.
And now, as we prepare to announce our Great American Pickleball Event that will showcase Music City as the next Great Global Pickleball destination, I can only reflect back to a time in 1996 when no one in Nashville knew how much fun they were about to have! Pickleball is nothing less than the Greatest Health, Wellness and Social Sport the World has seen in decades!
Nashville, I look forward to creating the same excitement for Pickleball that we did just a “moment ago” with the Nashville Kats!
Let’s Get Wild Nashville!
Billy McGehee is in Nashville!
In Music City checking out incredible hotels & luxury accommodations for our upcoming GREAT AMERICAN PICKLEBALL Special Event coming this summer!
Its gonna be WILDER THAN WILD!
To receive information on the upcoming special event register @ www.BMWOPB.com
It’s going to be a Let’s Get Wild summer in Nashville!
Just returned from Nashville & I am incredibly excited to announce…We finally Got ‘er Done!!!
After nearly three years of traveling to and from Nashville and countless hours of negotiating with Metro Parks of Nashville, we finally have an agreement in place for Billy McGehee’s Wild WORLD OF PICKLEBALL & KING PICKLE ENTERTAINMENT to bring one of our GREAT AMERICAN Pro-Celebrity-Charity Pickleball “Special Events” to Music City this summer!
My journey to bring our “Special Event” to this great city began in May of 2019 when I met with an incredible couple who have worked tirelessly to promote and build Pickleball in Nashville, Stephanie & Andy Lane.
I made a commitment to them at that time that I would do three things: (1)Bring one of our global “Pro-Celebrity-Charity Pickleball Special Events” to Nashville (2)Promote Nashville as a global Pickleball destination and (3)Work with the City and private sector to build as many Pickleball courts and facilities as possible. Beginning this summer, that is exactly what we are going to do!
Stay tuned America!
Press announcement and event details coming soon.
Visit www.BMWOPB.com to sign up for updates!
For the Love of Our American Heroes…
Billy McGehee & Country Music Star Ryan Weaver Team-Up!
click here for Ryan’s music video: https://youtu.be/ebULvWwmIXs
Billy McGehee & Ryan Weaver announced today that they are creating a Sports and Music partnership to bring a comprehensive awareness platform to support the sacrifices being made by the men & women who protect us every day!
“I was introduced to Ryan Weaver in 2021 when preparing to produce our Great America Pickleball Marathon on 9-11. He was gracious enough to kick-off and close the global streaming broadcast for our 9-11 event with three of his award-winning songs about American servicemen and servicewomen. Ryan is a decorated US Army Black Hawk Aviator and Combat Aviator Veteran. I am privileged and honored to be partnering with Ryan Weaver to showcase his musical talents to our growing pickleball community through our Special Events that support incredibly deserving charities. We both Love this Country with all our hearts and share an aligned vision for producing first-class events and content that support our deserving heroes!
I look forward to introducing Ryan Weaver and his music to the millions of dedicated pickleball players and sports enthusiasts that want to help support America’s heroic first responders!” said Billy McGehee
“As a County Music Artist, former United States Army Blackhawk Helicopter Pilot, and member of a two-time Gold Star Family, I am humbled by Billy McGehee’s desire to honor our Heroes in the Military, Law Enforcement and First Responder Communities. Sports and music are incredible conduits for powerful, positive messages. Billy and I see eye-to-eye on the never-ending need for supporting our Heroes, and I am proud to partner with him to do just that. Pickleball is one of the fastest growing sports in the World, and we have the ability to reach so many hearts and lives with our efforts. At each of Billy’s World-Class pickleball events, not only will we work together to spread the passion for the sport, we will also spread the passion and love for our Heroes. I am excited to share my music with the current and new pickleball fans and athletes through concert performances and promotions. Let’s make amazing things happen! Be safe!” – said Ryan Weaver
Visit Ryan Weaver’s website: www.ryanweaver.net
Visit Billy McGehee’s Wild WORLD OF PICKLEBALL: www.BMWOPB.com
39 years ago today!…
Saturday, February 5, 1983 Billy McGehee promoted a historic match between two of the greatest tennis players in the history of the game, Jimmy Connors and Bjorn Borg. Jimmy Connors was ranked #1 in the World and Bjorn Borg had just announced his retirement. On that iconic Saturday night in Baton Rouge, Louisiana nearly 10,000 fans witnessed what would become their final confrontation.
Throughout the 1980’s, Billy continued to promote the game of tennis which included two more epic matches between #1 players in the world; Ivan Lendl vs. Mats Wilander, and Martina Navratilova vs. Chris Evert. His events were legendary and always focused on supporting important charities such as the Adam Walsh Child Resource Centers.
In addition, Billy produced over 50 other major tennis events prior to leaving the sport in 1990 to Manage and Promote six (6) different Arena Football League teams, including the five (5) time AFL Champion Tampa Bay Storm and the two (2) time AFL runner-up Nashville Kats. Billy later became President & CEO of the NHL‘s TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING.
His 45 plus years of professional sports background has prepared him to bring the same type of talented sports management, marketing, promotion and fundraising expertise into the global sport of pickleball.
Welcome to Billy McGehee’s Wild WORLD OF PICKLEBALL & KING PICKLE ENTERTAINMENT!
Let’s Get Wild!
What an incredible Pickleball weekend in Nashville!
Twenty years after building the Nashville Kats Arena Football team into a league powerhouse, Billy McGehee is returning to Nashville this week with only one thing on his mind…making Music City the Premier Pickleball Destination in the World! A lot of fun ahead! Let’s Get Wild! Stay tuned!
Billy McGehee’s Wild WORLD OF PICKLEBALL
Presents
THE GREAT AMERICAN PICKLEBALL MARATHON
THE GREAT AMERICAN PICKLEBALL MARATHON SUPPORTING PARTNERS
April 2, 2021
Billy McGehee’s Wild WORLD OF PICKLEBALL continues to add incredible partners as we prepare for global expansion.
Billy McGehee’s Wild WORLD OF PICKLEBALL is proud to announce today its newest partnership with King Pickle Entertainment, a new global entertainment conglomerate dedicated to creating, producing, managing, and streaming the finest in pickleball “Special Events”.
“We are committed to providing all pickleball enthusiasts, as well as our loyal fans and followers, an innovative and exciting way to enjoy playing, watching, and learning more about the great sport of pickleball. Together, Billy McGehee’s Wild WORLD OF PICKLEBALL and King Pickle Entertainment will continue to expand the sport by creating our own unique brand of “Special Events” in association with our great partners in the sports, music, fashion, travel, hospitality, health, wellness, and fitness industries!” said McGehee.
To receive more information on our upcoming “Special Events” simply register at www.BMWOPB.com
For more information on Billy McGehee’s Wild WORLD OF PICKLEBALL visit www.bmwopb.com or contact Billy McGehee at 321-377-8864
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For Immediate Release
July 2, 2020
Billy McGehee’s Wild WORLD OF PICKLEBALL and
WORLD CHAMPION Kyle Yates Team Up!
It was announced today that Billy McGehee’s Wild WORLD OF PICKLEBALL, located at the historic Fort Myers Racquet Club in Fort Myers, Florida has become the new home of World Champion Kyle Yates.
“This is a great day for Fort Myers sports, Pickleball players around the world and sports enthusiast alike. Kyle Yates was born and raised in Fort Myers and attended the University of Florida. He was a great junior tennis player before his uncle introduced him to the game of pickleball. It has been a privilege for me to get to know Kyle and his family. He is a charismatic young man who loves pickleball which in turn makes him a great ambassador for the sport. He has won numerous US Open Men’s and Mixed Doubles titles as well as dozens of national and international professional titles. I am honored to be associated with him and to have Kyle training and Coaching here. I look forward to expanding my relationship with him” Billy McGehee
“I’m honored to be working with Billy McGehee. It’s a pleasure being a part of the growth of this great new sport. Having been born and raised in Fort Myers, it’s humbling to be able to give back to the community.” Kyle Yates
For more information contact the historic Fort Myers Racquet Club @ 239-896-0813 or by email to: billy@bmwopb.com
Let’s Get Wild!
Kyle Yates has proven himself to be one of the top Pickleball professionals in the world. His playing accomplishments include 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 US Open Men’s Doubles Champion, 2016, 2018 and 2019 USAPA Nationals Men’s Doubles Champion, 2018 and 2019 US Open Mixed Doubles and Nationals Mixed Doubles Champion, 2016 and 2019 Tournament of Champions Men’s Doubles Champion, as well as many other professional titles. Kyle was ranked #1 in Men’s Doubles in 2018 by the World Pickleball Federation.
Besides competing, Kyle devotes his time teaching and promoting the sport of Pickleball nationally and internationally, as well as supporting charitable causes. In February 2017, he and partner Dave Weinbach helped raise over $50,000 for pediatric cancer research.
Kyle is the IPTPA Director for South Florida. He serves as a board member for Pickleball For All, a not-for-profit organization based in Naples, Florida which supports teaching Pickleball in schools.
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT PICKLEBALL
With its recent rise in popularity, pickleball has quickly become one of the country’s most popular sports. Whether you’re familiar with the sport or not, pickleball has an interesting history and an even more interesting rise to popularity. Prepare your paddles and widen your knowledge of this new sports craze with these interesting facts about America’s new favorite paddle sport.
Pickleball was invented in 1965 by three fathers from Bainbridge Island, Washington to entertain their kids. Joel Pritchard, Bill Bell, and Barney McCallum made the equipment for the game by hand from items they had lying around the house and used rules from the games of tennis, badminton, and table tennis to create a fun new game for their families to enjoy.
Despite the name, pickleball has nothing to do with actual pickles. The sport is instead named after Joel Pritchard’s cocker spaniel, Pickles, who enjoyed chasing the ball while his owners played.
The sport has continued to grow in popularity among adults with 68% of pickleball players being above the age of 60.
Pickleball is almost equally as popular among men and women, with 53% of players being male and 47% being female.
Pickleball has its own national governing body, the United States of America Pickleball Association (USAPA),which regulates professional play for the sport.
The sport’s popularity across the world led to the creation of the International Federation of Pickleball, helping to regulate the sport in countries like the US, Canada, France, Great Britain and Spain.
The first permanent court for pickleball was built in 1967.
Due to its growing popularity, pickleball is now taught in many grade schools and junior high schools.
Like tennis, pickleball can be played as both a singles and doubles sport and has rules that allow teams with standing players and wheel-chaired players to play each other.
As of 2019, more than 3.6 million people who live in the US actively play pickleball, per a survey done by the Sports & Fitness Industry Association.