Longmont's first indoor pickleball club opens Saturday
Nov. 17—As pickleball continues to grow in popularity, one business is taking advantage of that hype in Longmont by becoming the city's first indoor pickleball club.
3rd Shot Pickleball sits inside a towering refurbished warehouse at 20 S. Bowen St. With five courts, a bar and a pro shop already set up, the club is ready to welcome its first pickleball players on Saturday for its grand opening.
Longmont pickleball fans have spent this week eagerly waiting for Saturday, which will be dedicated to free open play sessions along with food and drinks. For Dale Katechis, the new club is an opportunity to appeal to different community members — whether they're pickleball pros or locals just seeking a comfortable place to hang out.
"My hope would be that you have people that come because they hear that there's that entertainment piece of it and then they lean into pickleball, and vice versa," Katechis said. "You'll (also) have the pickleball player that's never had a craft beer."
Katechis is the founder of Oskar Blues Brewery, an icon of the Longmont craft beer scene, and is on the leadership team for 3rd Shot. He said he aims to use his Oskar Blues experience, particularly moving from Lyons to Longmont, to make the pickleball club a success.
"Having done business here for a few decades now ... we need more activities that bring people together, and pickleball is certainly one of those," Katechis said. "We want to continue to add a little flavor to Longmont."
For 3rd Shot, Katechis is working with business partner Adam Kahn, who has been offering indoor pickleball at his tennis club in Lakewood for a decade. Kahn is also the brains behind the name of the business.
"The third shot in pickleball is the most important shot in the rally," Kahn explained. "The effectiveness of that third shot really determines the outcome of the point 80% of the time."
Katechis and Kahn are preparing to open another 3rd Shot Pickleball location in Wheat Ridge within the next couple of weeks, and for $68 a month, members can use either facility after both are up and running. According to the team, once Wheat Ridge opens, 3rd Shot will be the only indoor pickleball club in the state with more than one location.
The Longmont location will be managed by Robert Leonard, a local pickleball coach who picked up the sport after tennis and fell in love with it.
"Every single one of my friends in Colorado, I've met through pickleball," Leonard said. "It's such a social community, and everyone loves being friends."
Kahn said the reason Longmont hasn't had an indoor facility exclusively for pickleball before now is because it's hard to find a building with the right characteristics, from ceiling height to column spacing. Advantages to indoor courts, however, include not having to worry about wind, weather or noise.
The Longmont facility is already planning some key expansions. Three additional courts will be built, bringing the total to eight hopefully within three months. 3rd Shot also wants to work with local nonprofit Can'd Aid, which Katechis is on the board for, to get youth into the pickleball scene by hosting them at the Longmont facility.
"We do a lot of things, whether it's delivering water or building bikes or skateboards for underprivileged kids," Katechis said. "Why can't we get them into pickleball?"
Katechis said the Longmont location, despite being housed in an industrial park, is ideal due to its proximity to neighboring breweries and its spot along a central transportation corridor for the city.
"We chose this place over a 'type A' retail space in town," Katechis said. "I think that speaks volumes to our belief that, 'build it and they will come.'"
More information can be found at 3rdshotpickleball.com.
