Tennis Club Owner Jumps on Pickleball Trend in Baltimore County
By Keith Loria August 2, 2023 3:48 pm
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Pickleball continues to make its mark.
Former professional tennis player Gil Schuerholz is the latest local entrepreneur to jump on the pickleball trend that’s sweeping America.
Schuerholz is opening Pickleball House, a 10-court indoor pickleball venue in Baltimore County, together with local businessmen Bill Henderson and Joe Opauski.
“Our group fully realizes that a number of operators are rushing to bring new indoor pickleball venues to market based on the sport’s popularity, but we intend Pickleball House to be a world-class facility featuring top-of-the-line finishes that others will wish to emulate,” Schuerholz, who is also co-owner of Forty West Tennis Club in Catonsville, Md., said.
The Schuerholz-led ownership group inked a 27,130-square-foot space at 1330 Innovation Street, part of a 1,000-acre mixed-use business community in Middle River, Md., known as Greenleigh.
“The facility will be state-of-the-art in every way, will accommodate all player skill levels from beginner to professional, and will be staffed by a highly-experienced team,” said Schuerholz.
Each court will be professionally measured to adhere to the legal 30 x 60-foot size, and the facility will be equipped with enhanced lighting and acoustical treatments to provide the highest quality playing experience, according to Schuerholz.
Scott Thornton, a USA Pickleball ambassador and director of the Orlando Tennis Centre, will serve as the facility’s general manager when it opens in November.
Pickleball House will also have space for an additional six outdoor courts, which the ownership group indicates “is an option that may occur in the future.”
St. John Properties owns the Greenleigh campus, which it developed with partner Somerset Construction Company in 2007.
This is the latest in a steady stream of pickleball leases in the D.C. metro area, particularly in Maryland. Professional pickleball player Jimmy Hall and coach Sonny Tannan are opening a 22,000-square-foot facility in Millersville, Md., in another business park owned by St. John Properties; pickleball specialist Dill Dinkers has a 28,500-square-foot venue planned in North Bethesda and a 12-court facility in Columbia.
Bill Jautze of St. John Properties represented the landlord while Dylan Bozel and Matt Mueller of MacKenzie Commercial Real Estate Services represented the tenant in the lease.
Keith Loria can be reached at Kloria@commercialobserver.com.
