First Time: Places
Lucky shots Pickleball Club
MINNEAPOLIS
Scheduled to open in late fall 2021, Lucky Shots will become the Twin Cities’ largest indoor pickleball facility. Its 12 state-of-the-art outdoor-style courts are located in a renovated 1940s industrial building with 40-foot ceilings—a massive “wide-open space uniquely suited to pickleball courts,” says owner Peter Remes.
“We’re modeling Lucky Shots after an old-school country club,” he explains. “We want this to be an immersive, enjoyable experience for anyone who comes in.” To that end, food and drink will also be available: “That’s part of phase two,” says Remes. “We’ll have a separate mezzanine for people to eat and drink and hang out.” In the meantime, the club is open seven days a week, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays and to 11 p.m. on weekends. Prime-time play is 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. on weekdays and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends and costs $45 an hour (non-prime time is $22.50 an hour); open play is $12 for two-to-three hours of court time. For information, visit luckyshotspickleball.com.
Missouri Pickleball Club
FENTON, MISSOURI
Welcome to what is arguably the nation’s largest indoor pickleball facility! The 51,000-square-foot Missouri Pickleball Club, which opened in September, offers an impressive 18 outdoor-style courts, including five at championship level. “When you think about how many playing days you lose to wind, rain, or cold, that’s a lot of time you don’t get to play pickleball outdoors,” says owner Michael Grewe. “Which is why our tagline is It’s Always Blue Skies at Missouri Pickleball Club!”
The Club is primarily membership only—to join is $20 a month plus court fees—though Grewe says non-members are welcome to play for an additional cost ($10 an hour when playing with other non-members, $10 a day playing with members). The facility is open seven days a week, from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., with the exception of Monday, when it doesn’t open until 5 p.m. “That allows us to conduct events during the day,” Grewe explains. He anticipates doubles and singles leagues as well as tournaments; in fact, three tournaments have already been planned, for Thanksgiving and St. Patrick’s Day, and a masters invitational in April. For more information, check out pickleballclubmissouri.com.
Anchorage Pickleball Club
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA
Outdoor playing season may only be five months long in Alaska, but that doesn’t dampen the enthusiasm of the 300-plus-member Anchorage Pickleball Club. Founded in September 2020, the club has more than doubled in size, even though, until June 17 this year, the only public playing options were eight city tennis courts.
After working with the municipality, the club got permission to convert two outdoor hockey rinks to 12 pickleball courts for use from May to September.
“There’s no place in Alaska that has this many courts. It helps that our newly elected mayor is a pickleball player!” says club president Robin Walthour, who estimates that nearly 1,000 pickleball enthusiasts have played on the courts.
In winter, the club returns to the indoor courts it fashions within the basketball courts at O’Malley Sports Center as well as three other indoor spaces in the city.
In season, the Anchorage Pickleball Club charges non-members $5 a day to play (members play free; anyone can join for $25 a year). For info, go to anchoragepickleballclub.com.
