Natick Mall will net area's largest indoor pickleball facility. What else is in the works

NATICK — Put away the white coats and get your athletic wear on.

Plans have changed at the former Neiman Marcus store at the Natick Mall, as a Sudbury-based sports facility management company has signed a lease that would convert the former department store into the region's largest pickleball gym.

A year ago, the plan was to retrofit the property to accommodate a research and development facility.

Bosse Sports plans to open a 21-court pickleball center in the Neiman Marcus space. Plans also call for a restaurant space and other recreational areas that will be used by Bosse Sports, including separate event space, private training areas and other amenities.

What is pickleball?

Pickleball, a racquet game that's similar to — but less stressful than — tennis, has seen its popularity grow rapidly in the past decade. The game is particularly popular with seniors, who are able to play in doubles competition with limited stress on muscles and joints.

Local park and recreation departments have been scrambling to accommodate the growing demand. Playgrounds are converting tennis courts to pickleball surfaces, and it's common for park redevelopment plans to include courts that are exclusive to pickleball.

Doug Steinberg, a competitive pickleball player who has worked as an instructor in Natick, Wayland and Wellesley, said the field of players has expanded beyond just seniors and is now being played rapidly by people of all ages.

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"It’s gone from just the sport where just people 65 and over play, (to now) all ages are playing," Steinberg said. "The growth is coming from all ages, I’ve heard numbers go from 5 million players to 40 million players. It’s growing by millions each year. I started this as a side gig, and now I’m booking two weeks out."

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Steinberg said the number one issue the game faces is demand for courts. While most communities have some public pickleball courts, courts are often crowded and require waiting at peak times.

"There are not enough courts. When I get done teaching an intro lesson, I tell them their options are town courts, there is a club in Medfield that they can join," Steinberg said. "As much as it's growing, pickleball takes up a lot of space. In the Route 9 corridor there isn't a lot of available spaces for indoor pickleball."

Natick resident Jim Acton, a certified pickleball instructor, said there's a shortage of indoor courts that offer year-round play.

"Private industry hasn’t caught up to where the demand is," Acton said. "Only indoor option is Life Time (in Framingham), which has three pickleball courts, but you need full membership to use them. MetroWest YMCA has three, on their basketball courts, that’s about it for indoor courts. Last winter people played outside all winter long — they will play as long as it isn’t snowing, but most would obviously prefer to play indoors."

Acton also said that while pickleball can technically be played on any hard surface, playing on hardwood or other types of gym flooring is very different. And that annoys experienced players and frustrates newer players who learned the game outdoors.

“It’s a different game, you use a mushier ball, the hard outdoor ball skids off the wood," Acton said. "The indoor balls are a little bouncier, it’s a different game. If the courts are anything like Bosse's other courts, the surface should be just like an outdoor surface. Indoor courts also have dividers, so balls aren’t rolling around on other courts.”

Natick Mall will be third Bosse Sports location

While the game can be played on any hard surface, pickleball-specific courts offer the highest quality of play. Bosse Sports operates a seven-court indoor complex in Boston, and previously operated Bosse Sports and Health Club in Sudbury.

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"We are thrilled to introduce Bosse to the growing pickleball community in Boston’s Metrowest and beyond," Bosse Sports founder DJ Bosse, stated. "This one-of-a-kind facility will not only cater to an increasing demand for pickleball but also create a dynamic hub for socialization, entertainment, and friendly competition. We hope to provide a premier destination where the community can come together, challenge themselves, and have a memorable experience — all under one roof."

What about the lab space?

The decision to convert the former Neiman Marcus space into pickleball courts is a very different direction than what was originally intended. In December 2021, NM Redevelopment, a subsidiary of Boston real estate firm Bulfinch Companies Inc., partnered with Chicago-based investment management firm Harrison Street to buy the Nieman Marcus space from the Natick Mall for $12.6 million.

Developers than planned to convert the former department store, which is approximately 140,000 square feet, into office and lab space. The proposal was met with significant pushback from nearby residents, particularly residents of Nouvelle at Natick, a luxury condominium building adjacent to the mall, who were concerned about traffic and safety if the space were to become lab space.

But with Bosse Sports signing a lease to convert the space instead to pickleball courts, the plan to convert the previous Neiman Marcus space into lab space is no longer in the pipeline.

When will pickleball courts at the Natick Mall open?

Bulfinch told the Daily News that the tentative plan is to open the pickleball court complex around summer or fall of 2024.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Pickleball courts in development at Natick Mall anchor store