The Woodbury City Council tonight approved a building permit for an eight-court indoor pickleball facility in a building at 390 Commerce Drive near Sam’s Club.
“Good luck on your project,” Mayor Anne Burt told the applicant. “I know you’ll be making a lot of pickleballers happy. There’s just never enough courts.”
S&F Corporation plans to lease the building’s entire 65,419 square footage. The indoor pickleball facility will occupy 22,000 square feet of the building. The remaining square footage is expected to be used as warehouse and office space.
The site has 171 parking stalls, which should be more than adequate for the use of the building. The facility is expected to be open for pickleball from 6 a.m. to midnight through memberships and drop-in, daily passes.
City planner Eric Searles said one condition of the permit is making sure the parking lot is adequately lit. He added that it’s expected to be several months before the courts are open. The planning commission approved the permit July 1.
Pickleball Boom
Less than a year ago, there were few full-time, dedicated indoor pickleball facilities in this area that offered court time without memberships. Lifetime Fitness has three courts, for which membership is required. Legacy offers 12 courts, but they rely on portable nets on gym floors that are also used for basketball and other sports. The YMCA offers pickleball at certain hours on certain days of the week. Oakdale has eight multi-use courts at SmashHub and four dedicated courts at The Burrows.
Then, Pickle in the Middle opened with 10 courts on June 1 of last year. Technically in Lake Elmo, at 11160 Hudson Blvd N, on the north side of I-94, owner Linda Deconinck says they are members of the Woodbury Chamber of Commerce and consider their main service area to be Woodbury, along with Hudson, Stillwater, St. Paul and other area cities.
On Oct. 1, 2024, All World Pickleball opened with 15 courts at 1650 Hudson Road, Suite #200. Owner Erik Edin said people would come by while the place was still under construction and ask if they could play, demonstrating the demand for indoor pickleball.
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