MIDDLETON — Lace up and grab your paddles — the pickleball craze is making its way to Middleton with the construction of a new indoor pickleball facility on Route 114.
The new 15,000-square-foot venue at 329 N. Main St., run by the New England Pickleball Club, will have six dedicated, fully-fenced-in pickleball courts, set to be fully completed by the end of this year.
For three consecutive years, pickleball has held the record for the fastest-growing sport in America, having grown 51.8% from 2022 to 2023, and an overall 223.5% since 2020, according to data from the Sports & Fitness Industry Association.
New courts, either dedicated specifically for pickleball or simply consisting of make-shift lines drawn over tennis or basketball courts, continue to pop up at local schools, sports complexes, retirement communities, public parks, and other recreation areas.
Websites like Pickleheads, Masspickleballguide.com, and PlayTime Scheduler were created to ease the process of finding these courts as well as similarly-skilled players to play with. However, even with these resources, reserving a court, finding a group that is fun and fair to play with, and playing competitively can be challenging.
There are more players looking for a game than the inventory of courts will allow. and it can be difficult to coordinate with other individuals of similar skill level. That’s part of the problem that Dave Velardo, owner of New England Pickleball Club, is looking to solve with this new location in Middleton.
The facility will include a full pro shop selling pickleball equipment, a front desk area, viewing areas, showers, show-court seating and viewing, and fully fenced-in professional pickleball court surfaces. While there are a few indoor pickleball facilities that have popped up in recent years, such as PKL in Boston or the Newburyport Brewing Co. Pickleball Club, this location will be solely dedicated to the love of pickleball.
“My focus is just on giving the best pickleball experience possible,” said Velardo. “My main focus isn’t on building all these crazy amenities like restaurants, but on actual club events, skill ratings, and players.”
The development is being built from the ground up at a vacant lot on North Main Street near Rockaway Road. While the courts will be open to non-members and paying members of the club, members will be able to reserve courts 10 days ahead of time compared to the non-members who can only book ahead three days — time that can make a big difference when indoor courts become extra busy in the winter.
Mostly taking the blueprint from New England Pickleball Club’s first location in Rye, New Hampshire, a large emphasis of the club will be placed on skill-based recreational play, comfortably evaluating and onboarding new players into the game, and maintaining “etiquette” during play. The goal is to ensure that players of any level of competitiveness, familiarity with the game, and skill can find a group to rally with, whether they are looking for social open play or competitive group play.
“Even if it’s non-competitive, you have to have the right skill rating, and part of the reason is because of etiquette. The best example is if you’re really trying to compete in pickleball, you’re totally going to be targeting weaker players. But in recreational play, which is what most people find likable, it’s bad etiquette to be targeting the weaker players, because then the really good players aren’t gonna want to play with you if you just never hit the ball to them. So we make a point to really separate the two and educate players,” said Velardo.
During most events, coordinators will be present to assist in setting up match-ups and help maintain a healthy environment, including etiquette. Additionally, staff have an in-depth rating system for determining a player’s competitive levels anywhere from extreme beginner to national pro level.
The club looks at the player’s available competitive data from league or outside tournaments and constantly reviews their results, whether they are a member or non-member, to ensure that they are being consistently matched with similarly skilled players.
For updates and further information on the facility visit https://middleton.newenglandpickleball.com/.
Michael McHugh can be contacted at [email protected] or at 781-799-5202
By Michael McHugh | Staff Writer
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