New Indoor Pickleball Courts Brings in Crowds
The cold, winter weather may have people looking for some indoor fun and a new businesses on Erie's east side offers just that.
Pickleball, a popular sport and skill that has made its way to Erie and has players flocking to the newest indoor court, Presque Isle Pickleball.
Michael Agresti owns the facility alongside his wife, Helen and said, "It's snowing outside, but it's 70° in here. So all year long, we can provide a place for people of all skill levels to play and we can do it with six courts which is it's nice because we can have clinics going on in some courts, we can have people who've reserved courts and others and then we have open play as well, so a lot of options for people."
The courts opened in November and the owners have seen players new and old, spend hours playing the game both competitively and for fun.
"We have veterans that really love the facility. They like the courts that we put in. They're professionally done and we've had a lot of beginners come too, so it's it's really nice we've got a mix of really good players and people just learning the sport. We've got all ages which is great, we've got people in their 80s playing, the little children playing and it's been really well received", said Agresti.
One of the veterans is Don Hill who has been playing for seven years and encourages everyone to give it a try. "Get involved, people will see what kind of level you're playing with and they'll work with you. They want to see you stick around, so it just takes a little time, that's all, you just gotta do it.
Pickleball isn't just for the pros it's for beginners too, they have tournaments and clinics for everyone who wants to play.
As Agresti explained, "It's a sport to grow. So we've set up a lot of beginner clinics and we have those going on on Saturday mornings and Wednesday nights. There's opportunities for people to do private lessons, so we want new people to join us and we want the existing players to get better."
Hill said even if you are nervous to get on the courts, once you start, you won't be able to stop, "It's just fun, it's good exercise you get off the LazyBoy, quit watching TV, get out there and just introduce yourself to this game, you won't regret it."
Presque Isle Pickelball is located at 3515 McClelland Avenue.
People can reserve a court or participate in their open play or clinics.
They also have party rooms available and plan to open their full kitchen at the end of the month.
For more information, click here.