NORMAL (25News Now) - A former supermarket and Gold’s Gym on Normal’s east side will become home for an indoor pickleball complex later this year.
A Utah-based franchise called The Picklr is scheduled to open this fall at College Hills Plaza in the 1500 block of East College Avenue. Most of space is vacant and Proving Ground Bouldering Gym is planning to move to a Bloomington location, according to staff at Normal City Hall.
Peoria is also part of The Picklr’s expansion plans, in addition to Champaign-Urbana and the Quad Cities. A news release does not give a location for a Peoria site which would open sometime after Normal’s start-up.
Normal’s venue will be 30,000 square feet with nine indoor courts, a full pro shop, outdoor-style surfacing and private event space, according to the news release.
This is the site of a planned indoor pickleball complex on East College Avenue in Normal.
Pickleball has been growing in popularity among people looking for new ways to stay fit. It’s like tennis, but players use paddles and a plastic ball.
“We are thrilled to bring The Picklr’s state-of-the-art pickleball facility to Bloomington-Normal,” franchise ownership group members Alex Burge and Adam Bell said in a prepared statement.
“As a management group who knows and loves the Twin Cities so dearly, and with pickleball quickly becoming one of the most desirable ways to stay active, spend time with others, and enjoy some friendly competition, we wanted to ensure we partnered with the best-in-class option for indoor pickleball,” Burge and Bell also said.
The Town of Normal will have to approve building permits for converting the space into pickleball courts.
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