THUNDER BAY —The Thunder Bay Pickleball Club has found a new home.
It has leased the space at the Canadian Lakehead Exhibition that formerly housed the Boulder Bear Climbing Centre, which closed last year.
But it's taking some work to make it suitable for pickleball and the launch of play in April.
"We are in the process of doing teardown and build-out right now...We're doing a full clear-out of the existing space, a full install of an acrylic indoor hardcourt surface, and permanent or semi-permanent nets," club president Jake Krawczuk said Wednesday.
A team of volunteers is also renovating the kitchen into a canteen area, and Krawczuk said that In the future, a second-floor viewing area could be installed as part of the lounge.
"It's a great location. Everyone is excited, I would say. We're all working really hard to make it happen."
The facility will include three full courts and one half-width, full-length "skinny" court for singles play and practising.
Krawczuk said temporary courts should be in place as early as next week to allow people to play over the March school break.
"We'll have the last of the really big teardown stuff out. It'll be a safe zone at that point."
Last fall, after the Moose Lodge became unavailable, the pickleball club was hoping to strike a deal with Lakehead University to rent the gym in the former Port Arthur Collegiate Institute.
Krawczuk said that remains a work in progress, but the club would still like to use it as a backup site to fill in programming slots when pickleball courts are in high demand.
The five-year-old club now has close to 400 members, but is aiming to grow.
"We've been capped over the last few years, largely by how much court space we're able to offer. We hit a ceiling where the sessions are full, the waitlists are full, and people can't get in," Krawczuk explained. "This and other changes we're making this year will drastically increase the available court time both for existing members and to fit new people in."
Club members also currently play at eight different local schools and the Boys & Girls Club.
