Page 20 - RE-NJ

18 MARCH 2025
Th Th Th T Th h h he Pi ick k k k k k klr l , a f f fa f f st-growing indoor pickleba ba a a a a b ba ba ba ball ll l l ll l
franchise, opened ne ne ne ne n nearly 40 locations in t t t t t the h h h he h h h h h U.S. in
2024 and was a as as as as as slate ed d d d d d d to add dd d d d d d m m m m mo or o o o o o e than 70 in in incl l l l lud ud ud udin in i in n in ing g g g g g g si i i ites s s s s s s s s in Manah hawkin and Fair Law w w w aw aw w w w w aw a 2 2 202 02 02 02 0 0 n n n n. n. n n n n n. n n
5, 5, 5
Courtesy: The Picklr
SERVING UP DEALS
Pickleball users snapping up retail, industrial space
as sports craze spreads in New Jersey
Anationwide post-pandemic
fi tness trend is also a real estate
trend in New Jersey, as indoor
pickleball facilities fi ll available
spaces throughout the state.
For example, the Jersey Pickleball
Club is opening its fi rst facility in
13,800 square feet at Bell Works
in Holmdel, while the Pickleball
Kingdom franchise debuted a
41,000-square-foot location in
Hamilton. The Ace Pickleball Club
franchise will occupy 27,000 square
feet at Brunswick Shopping Center
in North Brunswick, with Sportime
Pickleball unveiling locations of
50,000 and 30,000 square feet in
Wayne and Englewood, respectively..
“There’s a lot of people with money
and passion for pickleball,” said Scott
Schubiger, chief growth offi cer of The
By Marlaina Cockcroft
Scott Schubiger
Picklr, which
was eyeing
a mid-March
opening for its
new seven-court,
22,500-square-
foot location
at a shopping
center in the
Manahawkin
section of Stafford.
Pickleball — a mix of tennis, table
tennis and badminton that draws
players across age groups and athletic
ability — is the fastest-growing sport
in the United States, with the number
of players nearly doubling in 2022,
according to the Sports and Fitness
Industry Association. That popularity
has sparked demand for pickleball
facilities around the country.
Developers say pickleball fi ts in
locations from retail to light industrial
because courts can operate in a
variety of spaces, depending on the
type of facility and what it offers.
Some only have courts, while others
offer food and beverages and other
amenities like member lounges,
which might drive a higher rent.
Indoor facilities enable people to play
year-round.
But pickleball seemed like a gamble
in 2020, when NAI DiLeo-Bram & Co.
arranged an 11,200-square-foot lease
in an industrial building at 19 Royal
Road in Flemington for the newly
formed Flemington Pickleball Club.
Marc Shein, a senior vice president
with NAIDB, said the fi rm agreed to
handle one of the fi rst such facilities
in the area because the building was
zoned for recreation and already air-
conditioned and heated.
“We were scratching our heads going,
‘How are you going to make a living
doing this?’” he said. After that,
pickleball courts
“started popping
up all over the
place,” including
527 Stelton Road
in Piscataway,
where NAIDB
arranged a
2023 lease for a
Marc Shein
17,500-square-
foot indoor sports facility with
pickleball courts, badminton courts
and batting cages.
Shein estimates there are now more
than 70 pickleball locations in New
Jersey.