AConnecticutmall is opening the nation's largest indoor pickleball center as stores fade away

Jul. 9—After the closing at the end of 2021 of a Saks Off 5th department store, Stamford Town Center is serving up a different type of successor: Pickleball America, a 27-court complex that will be the largest indoor pickleball venue in the U.S. Officially opening Monday, the approximately 80,000-square-foot center reflects the explosive growth of pickleball in recent years. Its launch also highlights how Stamford Town Center and other malls are countering the wave of store closings in recent years by offering customers an array of new options for entertainment and play.

"We want to bring life to this space," Mia Schipani, a real estate broker and public relations professional, who is one of Pickleball America's four founding partners, said in an interview this week at the venue. "There's so much potential here."

New mall attractions

Arguably no mall in Connecticut has sought to diversify its tenant roster more in recent years than Stamford Town Center.

In addition to Pickleball America, a Kiddo Land play center opened last month on the mall's fifth floor. Next door to Kiddo Land is A Dance Space, which has served for nearly two years as the home of The Ballet School of Stamford. On the same floor is another play center, The Fun Palace, while another section of the floor is planned for The Living Room, a hub that will have a lounge, cafe, theater and gaming.

In the mall's restaurant plaza on Tresser Boulevard, New York Comedy Club opened in February. In the past year, Stamford Town Center has also welcomed Soccer Fun Zone and Sunstar Arcade.

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Among openings at other malls, a Funbox bounce park debuted last month at Connecticut Post Mall in Milford. At Danbury Fair, a Round1 Bowling & Amusement center will take the space formerly occupied by a Forever 21 store.

"As retailers have chosen to reduce their store count, and as shoppers have voiced their preference for online shopping, we have made a concerted effort to replace many of those retailers with entertainment and dining establishments," Stamford Town Center General Manager Dan Stolzenbach said in an email. "That's not to say that we don't have any retail; it just accounts for a smaller percentage than in years past. This strategy has worked well for us, and the new tenants are enjoying great success."

For the Pickleball America founders, all of whom are Stamford residents, Stamford Town Center's downtown location — particularly its proximity to many apartment buildings, corporate offices and the UConn's Stamford campus — made it an ideal place for their independently financed and operated venture. Among other locations in Stamford that they considered were the properties that formerly housed a Lord + Taylor department store and a Bed Bath & Beyond store.

By taking one of the mall's anchor pads, at 140 Atlantic St., next to Veterans Memorial Park, Pickleball America secured enough room not only for the pickleball courts, but also for other amenities including locker rooms, showers and bathrooms; lounge space; a café/bar; a club store; and a child care area.

"The mall is right in the middle of everything," Jay Ross, another of the founding partners, who is owner of Greenwich Realty Development, said in an interview. "Everything is here."

'Starving for courts'

Across the country, thousands of new players have picked up pickleball rackets in the past few years. Last year, participation in the sport increased by about 86 percent year over year and 159 percent during the past three years, according to a report from the Sports & Fitness Industry Association. Its popularity has been boosted by its appeal across age groups, from children to senior citizens.

But the infrastructure in many communities has not yet caught up to the demand, to the frustration of many pickleballers.

"The community of pickleball players are starving for courts," Joe Schipani, another of Pickleball America's founding partners and the brother of Mia Schipani, said in an interview. "What they typically get outside are asphalt courts that are victims of weather — the cold and the heat — and courts are cracking. What we have here is the ideal (Acrytec) surface for pickleball."

In Stamford, city officials said that they are working to expand the playing opportunities at public parks.

"We have dedicated courts at Scofieldtown Park and Cummings Park (hybrid with tennis), and also Scalzi Park/hockey rink, which has been painted to include both sports," Kevin Murray, Stamford's parks and recreation director, said in an email. The department is looking at expanding pickleball courts in both existing and open space across the city, he said.

Murray added that Pickleball America's opening was a "great idea" to accommodate the growing number of players.

The Pickleball America team sees the venue growing into a hub for competitive and casual players, across a range of ages. For those seeking instruction, the complex will offer group and individual lessons and clinics.

Among the early gauges of interest, the Pickleball America team said that about 3,000 people have signed up for their newsletter, while the complex has accumulated more than 200 members.

Standard membership rates start at $199 annually, plus fees for renting courts by the hour. Members will pay lower court rates and receive a number of other benefits, but nonmembers will also have access to the center. Nonmembers may rent courts at the 7-day-a-week club for $75 per hour.

"This is amazing. Stamford has kind of been behind surrounding communities with pickleball (facilities), but this is going to catch us up," Doug Edwards, president of the Stamford Pickleball Club, which has about 120 members, said in an interview during an open house held Wednesday at Pickleball America. "A lot of players go outside of Stamford because there are better players and better courts. Now they can stay in Stamford, as opposed to having to go to Darien or New Canaan."

In contrast with the quiet enforced during the action at tennis events such as Wimbledon, pickleball is a much more laid-back racket sport. People chatted freely on the sidelines at the open house.

"It's great to have a facility where you're not playing on a tennis court that's been sectioned off. These are real pickleball courts. It feels great to know there's a place to go to when the weather is bad," Darien resident Helen Johnson, who plays pickleball at venues across Fairfield County, said in an interview at the open house. "And they're making it social. They've got bleachers, they've got couches. If I want to just come for a social night with my girlfriends, I have some place to hang out, other than a bar."

Pickleball America's founders embrace the socializing that the sport facilitates. They see their "sportstainment" venue as not only a pickleball hub, but also as a place to host competitions in other sports, as well as events such as live concerts, flea markets, and exhibitions for antiques and cars.

"The socialization and community aspect are everything the world is pushing," said Joe Schipani, who has taught tennis for nearly 40 years and will serve as Pickleball America's chief pickleball officer. "It allows people from all walks of life to learn the game, socialize and make new friends."

To start, Pickleball America will only use one level, on the mall's fourth floor. Its second level, which will have an additional 14 courts, is scheduled to open about three to six months from now. There are also plans to open within the next couple of months, in adjoining sections of the mall, a co-working center and a green room with podcasting rooms. At the same time, the center will have outdoor space around its entrance next to Veterans Memorial Park and on a terrace that adjoins the mall and the Landmark Square complex.

"We'll have so much space, so there's a lot of activity that we can create," Jay Waldner, Pickleball America's other founding partner and the principal of Waldner's, a family-owned furniture dealer, said in an interview. "And we're never short on ideas."