Pickleballers at the inaugural Western Canada Regional Pickleball tournament held at the OWA Pickleball Complex in July of 2023 (Liam Verster / Vernon Matters Staff)

By Liam Verster

Hermann House

Gaming grant to help build reception centre at Vernon’s pickleball complex

Jan 30, 2024 | 10:56 AM

The Vernon Pickleball Association will be able to upgrade its facility thanks to a provincial grant.

The B.C. Gaming Commission approved a $250,000 capital grant to the association (VPA) to help with construction of a reception centre at the Okanagan Wealth Advisors Pickleball Complex at Marshall Fields.

OWA Pickleball Complex at Marshall Fields shown with concept design of Hermann House: a reception centre that will include washrooms, a registration area and other amenities. (Image credit: Vernon Pickleball Association)

The reception centre will be called Hermann House, after the late Wally Hermann, a founding member of VPA.

The 2,300-square foot building will be attached to the existing 12 court pickleball enclosure and include permanent washrooms, a registration area, a meeting room, an office, and a footwear change area.

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Construction of the Hermnan House is expected to be complete in early June.

The project will be phase 3 of the facility, and is expected to cost approximately $1 million.

“This last phase was required in part because the B.C. building code required us to have permanent washrooms integral to our building,” Rob Irving, the grant application author, said.

“Secondly, this very active club needs all the other components of the reception centre for its daily operation. With the rapidly increasing cost of construction, we could not complete all the essential components without the $250,000 cash infusion from the BC Capital Gaming grant. The funds are greatly appreciated.”

The project will bring the total construction cost of the pickleball complex to $3.2 million.

“The thousands of volunteer hours by our talented members are also essential to the completion of this project and the ongoing operation of the club,” Irving stated.

“In addition to the volunteer hours, the VPA members have contributed an astounding $2.3 million via debentures (loans), donations, pre-paid club credits and through court fee and tournament revenues. Most of this funding was done when we had 400 members. Now the membership has ballooned to 1,200.”

The City of Vernon has provided $500,000 towards this facility since 2017, and also waived the project’s development cost charges.

The OWA PIckleball Complex is open 12 hours a day, 363 days a year, and sees approximately 100,000 hours of use every year.

The Vernon Pickleball Association was voted “Canada’s Best Pickleball Club for 2023,” and also hosted the inaugural Western Canada Regional Pickleball tournament last July.

The VPA is accepting community donations to help with the construction of the Hermann House. Details on how to give can be found here.