New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
New pickleball facility is ‘spot for everyone’
ORANGE — Pickleball is often referred to as a sport with cross-generational appeal, and a new indoor facility in town wants to be the go-to spot for players of all ages and skill levels.
Pickle Spot, which will occupy the other half of the former Ocean State Job Lot at 401 Boston Post Road, will be the “spot for everyone to join in and take part,” owner JoAnn Scillia said.
The soon-to-open facility will offer a variety of programs, including fourweek instructional classes tailored to players' skill level. Hosted by a professional pickleball instructor, the classes will be geared toward beginners, “advanced beginners” — or new players with some experience — and intermediate players, a flyer states.
In addition, more seasoned players can level up through multi-week or one-time specialty instruction with any one of the Pickle Spot's four teaching pros, or fine-tune their drop-shots and cross-court dinks by reserving one of the facility's five full-sized, cushioned courts.
Pickle Spot also will offer “cardio pickle,” a fastpaced activity that sees players taking many shots over a short amount of time, among several other programs, according to Scillia.
“We really want to throw the doors open and be the spot for people who are looking for instruction and want to be part of the pickleball craze,” Scillia said.
Pickleball has exploded in popularity in recent years. An estimated 13.6 million people played pickleball in the U.S. in 2023, up from about 8.9 million the year before, according to a report from the trade group Sports & Fitness Industry Association. As of January, USA Pickleball had a membership of more than 78,700 registered players, a 15 percent increase over 2023, an annual growth report shows. The country has more than 50,000 known pickleball courts, according to the report.
Catering to the demand, several pickleball facilities have opened in Connecticut. In July, the Stamford Town Center mall welcomed Pickleball America, a two-floor, 80,000-squarefoot facility with 28 courts. It is the largest indoor pickleball facility in the U.S. Other facilities in New Haven, East Haven and Plainville are in the works.
But as the public's interest in the sport has reached a fever pitch, existing courts have struggled to keep pace with the surge in volume, creating long wait times and deterring some newcomers from getting involved, according to Scillia.
“There's so much craze happening at the local parks where people show up and they play, and there are all these established groups,” Scillia said. “I think entry might feel intimidating to people to come to one of the parks where longstanding groups have been showing up and there's lines.”
With Pickle Spot, Scillia, a Branford resident who worked for a New Haven advertising agency for 17 years, said her team sought to create a welcoming environment for entry-level players, experts and everyone in between. The business also is centrally located on a busy commercial corridor.
“We want to be the spot for new people; for people who have tried it or never tried it; for people who are seasoned professionals, young and old,” she said.
Upon visiting, new players can participate in a free, 30-minute orientation during which they will meet a professional coach, who will introduce the players to the game, assess their ability and recommend them for certain programs, Scillia said. Membership is not required at Pickle Spot. But the business will offer a founding membership rate of $14.99 a month, which comes with advanced booking for court times and reduced court fees.
Pickle Spot has been holding a soft launch in recent days and will host a grand opening soon, Scillia said. It will be Orange's first dedicated pickleball facility; the two outdoor tennis courts at the High Plains Community Center are the only other locations to play the sport, the town's website states.
Orange resident Pattie Whitlock was among a group of people who dropped in to play a few games of pickleball during the Pickle Spot's soft opening. “The first thing that we all noticed was the court was a little cushioned,” Whitlock, 70, said. “We're older ... and when you play on a hard court, your knees and your legs just ache when you get done. When you play on a rubber court, your legs just don't get so sore.”
Pickle Spot will share the former Ocean State Job Lot property with The Grind, a baseball and softball training facility that bought the building's rear parcel for about $4.1 million last year. Scillia expects the two businesses will be good neighbors.
“They spend a lot of time waiting for their kids while they're training in the (baseball) facility,” she said. “It's a nice option for them to come next door to play.”
Annemarie Sliby, the executive director of the nonprofit Orange Economic Development Corp., said Pickle Spot and The Grind complement each other as two sports-minded businesses. “They took a property, and they made it beautiful,” she said of the previously vacant retail building.
The new indoor pickleball facility, she noted, will be a regional draw throughout the year and help drive economic activity in Orange.
“It's nice that we have a business that is brand new and people can play all year round,” Sliby said. “It's such a popular thing now that I'm really happy that we have it in here in Orange.”
Candice Lombardo, a Trumbull resident whose son trains at The Grind in Orange, said she recently took a pickleball course for beginners at the Pickle Spot. Lombardo, who has never played the sport, said she liked how everyone in her group was “learning at the same speed,” which she preferred to the idea of playing at her local park with strangers who could be much more experienced.
During her lesson, Lombardo said, she learned the sport's basics: the layout of the court, how to hold the paddle and how to serve and volley. A mother and her daughter also participated in the lesson, according to Lombardo, who also has a daughter.
“I said to my daughter, ‘We need to go up there and do it,' ” Lombardo said. “I feel like it could be a fun family thing as well.”