Lifestyle ·
Pickleball Community Demands Government Provide What Private Sector Could Not Make Profitable
WILLIAMSBURG - Local pickleball players were reportedly stunned this week to learn that a massive indoor pickleball facility with rent, payroll, utilities, insurance, buildout costs, equipment costs, and unavoidable membership churn might be vulnerable to bankruptcy.
The news arrived as many of the same residents were demanding that the new Greater Williamsburg Sports & Events Center, a 200,000-square-foot configurable venue built for tournaments, corporate events, turf sports, basketball, volleyball, cheer, dance, concessions, and regional economic impact, stop being so distracted by all those things and finally focus on its real purpose: letting the area's most confident retirees play pickleball exactly when and how they prefer.
"We are not asking for special treatment," said one player. "We simply believe we should be provided the permanent, climate-controlled pickleball experience that the private sector has proven is unsustainable."
Several residents expressed frustration that the sports center continues to host other activities despite pickleball's obvious position as the final evolutionary stage of recreation for people who spent decades believing that the world revolves around them.
"The challenge with pickleball as a business model is that your most loyal customers are also the ones constantly discussing living wills, orthopedic surgeons, and pending hip replacements," said a GWSEC representative. "It's a passionate market, but one where the customer base quite literally dies off."
Officials said the center will continue pursuing younger, larger, and more sustainable markets, including any event capable of producing hotel rooms, restaurant checks, spectators, and players who do more than argue about whiffle balls in their kitchen.