1/14/2023

Exciting News!

Pickleball Family,

There was a post on Facebook from someone asking if Hickory had enough players to support an indoor pickleball facility.  Luckily someone made me aware of this post so I reached out to the person who created the post to find out the purpose of his question.

I just got off the phone with him and I would like to let you know about his vision.  He is asking me to help him determine if there is enough support in Hickory and the surrounding areas to make creating his vision a worthwhile investment for him and his partner.

He is from Florida and his partner is from Pennsylvania - they are looking to create a top notch indoor pickleball facility.  Because of the availability of a piece of property here, and its lower cost compared to the same type of structure in other cities, as well as the rapid growth of pickleball in our area, they feel that Hickory, NC, may be the perfect spot for this facility.

He is looking to create an indoor pickleball facility that has 20 lighted pickleball courts made from the same surface as outdoor pickleball courts.  These are dedicated pickleball only courts at a dedicated pickleball only facility.  

From our discussion he informed me that it will have showers, bathrooms, locker rooms, a work area (for those who want to have a conference call/meeting and then return to pickleball), etc.

He says the facility even has enough room to add 10 more courts in the future if the demand facilitates the need for more courts.  There is not another facility in the US that has 30 indoor pickleball courts...this would be a one of a kind!

He wants to hold numerous large tournaments at the facility, having local food trucks come during the tournaments to help support the local economy. He evisions clinics, lessons, pros, full time manager, as well as other pickleball related events at the facility.

In talking to him I can tell he is in love with pickleball as much as all of us and his excitement for this project could easily be heard in his voice.

He and his partner are coming this week to take a look at the property and then meet with me just to further discuss pickleball in our community.

He told me that if he feels like our community and surrounding areas can support this project, and he decides to go through with the building purchase, he plans to have the facility up and running within 3 months.  He said he and his business partner already have a proven plan for the pickleball facility development so it should move forward pretty quickly.  He is also getting advice from Lee Whitwell (pickleball pro) as he follows the plan for creating this pickleball venue.

So, I know your big question, what is the cost?

He plans to charge $100 per month or $1000 if you pay for a full year in advance.  What I appreciate about his cost is that you can play as much as you would like with no extra charges.  At other facilities, there tends to be a monthly cost and then a small additional cost each time you play.

I told him that the two biggest concerns I hear from pickleball players in this area are the lack of facilities to play at when there is poor weather and the lack of lights for nighttime play.  This facility would obviously address both.

He said that in order to make this investment worth pursuing, he is going to need at least 300 players to agree to become members when it opens.  He feels that if we don't have that much support in Catawba County, maybe once the word spreads about the facility, players from other areas would travel to Hickory to play.  But to make this pickleball project happen, he really needs at least 300 players to become members for when it's finished.

So I am reaching out to you to get your honest thoughts, feedback, and questions.

Truthfully, how many of you will pay $1000 a year to join a pickleball facility of this type?  

If you're 100% sure you would join, I need to hear that.  If you know you will not join the club and want to just play at the local outdoor courts and at Highland Rec, I need to hear that as well.  

I really need to know exactly what you're thinking so I can be honest with him and his partner when we talk.  I don't want to say, "Yeah, we've got 450 players ready to join!", he builds the facility, and then only 50 people join.  I don't want them to invest in our community and then fail.  

Thank you very much for reading this, thinking about this, and letting me know your honest opinions!  

I am beyond thrilled that someone would look at Hickory to build a pickleball facility of this scale!  If this comes to fruition, I truly believe we will have pickleball players from everywhere viewing Hickory as the place to come to in order to find the best pickleball play and the best facility in the state!

Have a wonderful weekend!

*btw: if you know players throughout our area that aren't on our TeamReach app, please forward this email to them so I can get their input as well