Pickleball facility taking over former Cambridge Peavey Mart

A former Peavey Mart store in Cambridge, Ont. will be turned into an indoor pickleball facility. CTV’s Karis Mapp has more.

A new indoor pickleball facility is set to take over the former Peavey Mart in Cambridge.

Pickleplex Social Club is bringing a state-of-the-art indoor pickleball facility to the Galt location. The property’s real estate agent said it is the perfect fit for the building at 75 Dundas St N.

“A lot of the natural tenants that would go into that location are already in that plaza, which made it a little more complicated. There were some other challenges with the building, so something like Pickleplex really was a good fit for the building,” said Fraser Vrenjak, senior vice president of Cushman & Wakefield Waterloo Region.

Peavey Mart closed in January, due to ongoing financial struggles. Vrenjak said as many large retailers are struggling, recreational companies are trying to seize the opportunity.

“To this day, landlords aren’t fully on board with all these recreational users just yet. There’s still a little hesitation. they’d rather see a Sobeys grocery store or a sports check. They’ve been around for a while, and you know they’re going to be there for the future, but they are definitely becoming more flexible with these uses,” Vrenjak said.

“We’re using the space now for something that was, you know, maybe tough to fill in retail the way retail is going and utilizing for something like, active, healthy lifestyle,” said Owen Smith, co-founder of Pickleplex.

Smith said Pickleplex will host lessons and tournaments while focusing on the quickly growing sport, but also pairs it with a social element.

“The way that we built every site and location is to have a social area for a common place for people to sit, lounge, sit on bar stools, watch their friends play,” said Smith. “We want everyone to come and get to know each other, make new friends, keep that friendship both on the court and off the court.

Pickleplex is set to open four additional locations in Ontario this year. The Cambridge location is expected to open its doors this fall.

Pickleball has been growing in popularity in Cambridge. Four Fathers Brewing launched its Pickleball Society just over a year ago.

“Pickleball is such an accessible sport. People of all ages, and skill levels can pick up a paddle and have fun immediately,” Mike Hruden, co-owner of Four Fathers Brewing said. “To many, it’s a social life. So people become friends, they stay active, and they feel more connected to the community by doing that.”