PLAYER ~ OWNER PICKLEBALL FRANCHISES

MARYLANDS FIRST PLAYER/OWNED 

       PICKLEBALL   EMPORIUM           

Pickleball 24/7 indoors, eight bright lit, bright colored lines, no glare court surfaces, pickleball only courts. A meet and greet snack bar for between game fast food & libations. A place to play pickleball and hangout with other pickleball players. Come when convenient and leave when you want.  Play with others of similar skill sets on designated recreational and competitive courts.  Lesson available for new players.  Minimum 2.5 players and up.  Free skill ratings. Admission based on court space availability.  Fair play rotation. And a good time had by all!    

    

Mark Wymor was quick witted enough to want to know where this "fantasy" pickleball place to play was?

The answer is that this is more real than fiction but at this time here in this area the concept is in the hearts and minds of people like us who love to play the game.

What separates us from accomplishing such a project is our complacency and a "let someone else do it" attitude, I just want to play.   Especially those of us who are in the senior population, who are most complacent of all because we have tax-payer funded pickleball programs who are currently picking up the tab. 

And we remain at the footstool of government waiting for their handouts that tell us when to play, where to play and how to play OUR GAME.

Now think about how much a year it cost with inhiation fees, and yearly dues belong to a private country club with tennis courts and one or two multi-purpose "pick-ten" courts. My guess is 2K+ for a family membership. Well healed folks have no problem meeting this commitment. Not so with most of us. 

What we lack in green backs, we make up in numbers.  Its time for "we the pickleball community" to get serious about having a play-owner pickleball facility that service our needs instead of those public funded venues where we serve the needs of the government just for allowing up a few hours per week to occupy their buildings, when and where they allow us to do so.

A thousand dollars is a lot of money for most of us to put up for a place to play pickleball.  And then it would probably require a minimum of 500 dedicated players to invest this sum of money into such a venture.  But think of what could be accomplished with this bankroll.  Maybe not all out ownership, but enough money to attract an out of town pickleball franchise to setup shop in this area.  The franchise are out there but unfortunately Maryland has little to offer in the way of attracting new business. 

At this age I could sit back and enjoy the public funded pickleball handouts.  But it just aint in my blood. But much sooner than later, with the overwhelming numbers of new players entering the sport on a daily basis, we seniors are going to be paying our local senior centers to play pickleball, the same as those seniors who pay to attend yoga, craft and Ti Chi Classes. Federal subsidies to local  governments are being cut due to irresponsible spending.  Local governments are looking for any and all sources to increase their revenue intake.  The pickleball promoters" are doing such a great job they are attracting new players, but not providing the places to play or the provide enough certified instructors to teach these new players how to play. 

Once a newbie finds out they can hit a pickle ball with a paddle and it goes over the net, many decide to they are ready for prime time. And now you know why you have to wait 20 -30 minutes between games.

THE POINT OF THIS MIS-MASH OF WORDS is "if WE BUILD IT THEY WILL COME AND WE WILL PLAY."   The operative word here is "WE."  

There are a loot of highly intelligent players in pickleball, who during their careers organized and manage such expansion ventures for  the companies they worked for . Its called critical thinking and creative financing, using small donation investors to create large successful business ventures.

JUST FORMING A SMALL GROUP OF CREATIVE THINKERS TO INVESTIGATE THE POSSIBILITIES AND OPPORTUNTIES OF A PLAYER-OWNER PICKLEBALL FACILITY IS AT THE LEAST A FIRST STEP.

Surely there are great minds out there in pickleball land who can take this idea to fruition or devise a plan that is much better than what was discussed here.