1/27/2023

Good morning!

Unfortunately I do not have a lot of news concerning the possibility of an indoor pickleball facility in Hickory, but I did want to take a moment to fill you in on what I do know.

As I mentioned in my previous email, a pair of investors are hoping to create 10 indoor (outdoor surface) pickleball only courts in Hickory during the first phase of their project.  The facility would have restrooms, showers, lockers, a place to socialize, etc.  Once that part of the facility is open they are planning to add 10, possibly 20, more courts to the indoor facility as they are needed.

After carefully measuring the size of the facility for the first part of the project, it was determined that the area isn't wide enough to have 10 official size pickleball courts - it's about 9 feet short.

Currently the investors are looking at how many courts they can create in the space during the first phase of the project.  They want to try and create a top notch facility, not just squeeze as many courts as possible into the building.  Once they determine how many pickleball courts they can create in the first phase of the project, they will then determine if it is in their best interest to pursue the project.  I'm in constant contact with them and I know they truly want this facility in Hickory to become a reality!

I apologize, but at this point, that is all the news I have to pass along.

In some non-facility related pickleball news: 
Earlier this week I had a Google Meet with the creator of a communications app, as well as a handful of pickleball/tennis players from a couple different states. The app he and his team have created will be launching in the near future (I'm currently testing the Beta version).  From the discussions we had (and what I can see with the version I'm testing), it seems like it will be similar to TeamReach when it launches.   He mentioned that other features will be added in the near future, allowing it to be a more powerful tool than TR (especially in regards to how it can be used at pickleball tournaments).  He is not as familiar with pickleball as he is with tennis, so he and I plan on talking next week to discuss how the app can be made more pickleball specific.  I will try and keep everyone up-to-date on the release of this app.

Again, sorry I don't have more/better news yet, but I promise to keep you posted when I have any further updates.

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend!!!

ps: when I posted my request on TR for players who want to receive email updates on this project, I got a bit overwhelmed by all the responses (currently sending this to 165+ players/families), so I may have missed an email address or two; if you hear of someone who sent me their email address and they never got my previous email, please tell them I apologize and to please send me their email address again. Thank you!