Pickleball, which looks a little like tennis, is enjoying a surge in popularity.. | johnstoncountync.org
Pickleball, which looks a little like tennis, is enjoying a surge in popularity.. | johnstoncountync.org
When it comes to pickleball, it’s almost as much fun to tell someone you’re going to play it as it is to get out on the court and give it a whirl.
Despite the funny-sounding name and the fact that it has been around since the mid-1960s, it’s gaining popularity in the mid-Atlantic these days, so much so that Charlotte is planning a pickleball complex for its Lower South End (LoSo) neighborhood within the next year or so.
“What’s so incredible about this game is that literally anyone can step onto a court and have a fun, competitive game their first time out,” Megan Charity, an internationally ranked pickleball pro who owns the Rally complex with Barrett Worthington, told WCNC.
The sporting site will have two buildings that will provide more than 27,000 square feet of indoor space. Pickleball players will have a choice of playing on one of the four indoor or four outdoor courts. Other amenities such as bars, dining facilities, and rooms to rent for events will be available, too.
Charity will lead Rally’s pickleball program and she will design for all talent levels, from first-timers to seasoned pros. The goal is to bring such complexes to urban markets across the southeast as the business grows, WCNC said.
Charlotte is the first Rally location, and it is to open at the corner of Old Pineville Road and Southside Drive.
“Charlotte is such a vibrant city that embraces active living and has a thriving experiential entertainment scene,” Worthington told the news channel. “We knew it would be the perfect place to launch the Rally brand and can’t wait to open in such a buzzworthy neighborhood as LoSo.”
Rally expects to break ground this spring. Look to get into the action sometime next year.
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