The inaugural 2026 APP Dillons Overland Park Open not only brought four days of pickleball to the Kansas City area, but received an enthusiastic welcome from the community. At AdventHealth Sports Park at Bluhawk, hundreds of professional, collegiate and amateur players shared the stage with local fans and families, who filled the seats to capacity for a national television broadcast. The energy around the courts cemented the event as more than just a new stop on the APP Tour - it felt like the beginning of a Overland Park tradition.

The competition gave fans and sponsors plenty to celebrate. Five professional championship matches delivered memorable moments, including Tristan Dussault’s first APP Tour gold medal and Megan Fudge’s record-tying 33rd career women’s gold. The Dillons Border Battle Showcase added a distinctly local note, bringing the University of Kansas and University of Missouri club pickleball teams together for another chapter in their storied rivalry. Through it all, the Overland Park crowd created an exhilarating atmosphere embraced by the players and event organizers alike.

“From the players on court to the people cheering them on, Overland Park showed us how much enthusiasm there is for this event,” said Nate Peterson, APP Executive Director of Strategic Partnerships in Overland Park. “We’re grateful for the welcome we received in our first year, and we’re excited to build on that connection with the community and our terrific partners. Our goal was to create an experience that people throughout the Kansas City area would want to be part of, and together, we built a strong foundation.”

Local news outlets flocked to the event to capture the buzz, including FOX 4’s Great Day Kansas City, KMBC-9, KCTV-5, the Kansas City Business Journal and more. Reporters jumped directly into the action, taking part of hitting demonstrations with the sport’s elite professionals, interviewing event organizers, and offering a firsthand point-of-view of all the festivities inside the AdventHealth Sports Park at Bluhawk.

“The response from the Kansas City media collective gave us another strong foundation alongside the attendees and partnerships,” said Lonnie Penner, Marketing Director for the APP in Overland Park. “As we look towards 2027 and beyond, we see the opportunity to bring even more local businesses into the event and make the experience richer for players and fans. There will be plenty more stories to tell from this event in the coming year.”

The event was strengthened by the support of a vast portfolio of community partners including title sponsor Dillons, Morton, Visit Overland Park, Chick-fil-A, Chicken N Pickle, Russell Stover and more. Their support connected a largescale community event, featuring the best pickleball players in the world, with businesses and organizations that make the Kansas City area distinctive. The APP is grateful for their support in welcoming players and fans to Overland Park and in establishing the event as an occasion the wider community can share.

“We couldn’t be more pleased with the success of the inaugural APP Overland Park Open, an event Visit Overland Park was proud to host, and the energy it brought to Overland Park,” said Eric Olson, Vice President of Sports and Events at Visit Overland Park. “The event delivered an outstanding experience for athletes, families and fans while bringing visitors to our community and generating meaningful economic impact. The success of this event is a great example of what can happen when strong local partners share a commitment to delivering an exceptional experience. The teams at AdventHealth Sports Park at Bluhawk and APP’s local market team worked seamlessly together to create a first-class event, and we are proud of what we accomplished together. What a way to launch the APP Overland Park Open—we’re excited about the momentum this creates for Overland Park and the future of sports tourism in our community.”

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The inaugural APP Dillons Overland Park Open offered a promising start to the APP and Visit Overland Park’s long-term partnership, which was announced last week ahead of the event. With an engaged local community, a mix of elite and amateur competition, and partners invested in the event’s success, the foundation is in place for the Kansas City area’s premier pickleball event to grow in 2027 and beyond.