It’s no secret traditional mall facilities are facing stiff headwinds. Malls and big-box retails stores are shuttering at an unprecedented rate as buyers’ habits change. But a recent trade in repurposing mall facility space is catching on quickly all over the country.
Out latest national obsession is a racket game called pickleball. And since it’s a relatively new sport, there aren’t a lot of dedicated pickleball courts – which require a 44-foot-by-20-foot slab of concrete.
So developers and building owners have come up with a solution that accomplishes two things at once. They are converting vacant mall space into pickleball courts!
According to Business Insider, contractors grind down flooring to smooth it, add new HVAC for better air circulation, paint the lines and add the nets, and voila! You have a whole new pickleball arena with dozens of courts ready for play.
Billionaire Steve Kuhn is funding an effort cleverly called Picklemall which has a goal of converting 50 empty malls to pickleball courts this year. Another start-up called Picklr is focusing on shuttered big-box retail stores for its conversions to pickleball courts, and expects to open 25 locations this year and 150 in the next three years. The conversions in old bix-box stores usually require removing a drop ceiling and upgrading the sprinkler system, changing the fluorescent lighting (not ideal for pickleball), and upgrading restrooms.
Greg Zimmerman is senior contributing editor for FacilitiesNet.com and Building Operating Management magazine.
