By Arlinda Smith Broady
With the explosive growth of pickleball in the last decade, it’s no wonder that one of the favorite community centers in the area recently unveiled a 2,000-square-foot pickleballers’ paradise. The Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta (MJCCA) opened The Eva G. Lipman Pickleball Complex for play on Wednesday, June 26. People were lined up with paddles in hand waiting to get a crack at the top-line setup.
The complex has 12 pickleball courts. Eight are covered for all-weather play and all of them have individual fencing to help keep the action contained to each court.
There is also the Cadranel’s Corner, an outdoor café serving up food, drinks and a well-stocked bar for the enjoyment of players and spectators alike. The patio setting has adjustable screens to allow access to viewing of play. They can be raised in fair weather and lowered when it’s rainy or too sunny. There’s also a large viewing area with multiple large-screen TVs.
Adjacent to the pickleball complex is the Zaban Family Sports Pavilion. It’s a massive covered multi-sport court that adapts to multiple types of games for all sports enthusiasts.
Why pickleball?
“Pickleball to us is more than just a sport,” said MJCCA CEO Jared Powers. “I think we were attracted to it by the social component and being able to bring the community together. What we love most about pickleball is that a grandparent can play with their grandchild and that beginners can learn very quickly.”
Before the new complex opened, there were about nine pickleball courts. They did double-duty with basketball and tennis, but demand became so high that the community center administration decided it was time to jump on the bandwagon.
“There’s not a lot of great options around here for an elevated experience,” said Powers. “Now we’re able to provide a dedicated pickleball court covered with shade and fences in between each pickleball court to stop balls from going in between, which is pretty annoying. If you’re playing in a gym or on a tennis court, there’s balls always traveling between courts.”
Perhaps the best feature is the covering over most of the courts.
“We had a couple of people test it out for us [before it opened to the public] when it was 95 degrees outside,” said Powers. “When you’re under the cover and the social space overlooking it, it’s probably 15 degrees cooler, which was a huge selling point for our folks.”
The Georgia sun can be unmerciful – even in fall and spring.
“We think the covered courts and social space are going to be game changers for us,” he added.
“When you drive into the center’s main gate, the sign on the marquee says, ‘All are welcome.’
We are a true community center,” said Powers. “We are the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta. We welcome everybody. We have a lot of non-Jewish members from Dunwoody, Sandy Springs and more. We truly are an inclusive environment.”
Joining in the action is simple
“You can come in and get a tour and we serve the community from ages 0 to 100,” said Powers. “You can start at preschool. On this 50-acre campus, we have a huge day camp. We have sports leagues throughout the year, after-school programs, learning opportunities, art performances, three outdoor pools, one indoor pool, a fitness center that’s about to get renovated and plenty of parking.”
Newcomers are invited to check out the facilities with a free trial week to see if it’s a good fit.
For tennis, MJCCA is affiliated with USTA. But it’s involved with ALTA (Atlanta Lawn Tennis Association) for pickleball.
“We’re going to be expanding [the pickleball] program [now that] the new facility [has launched],” said David Fried, MJCCA chief program director. “We’ll be offering more teams.”
Besides the new complex, MJCCA will have a dedicated social programming and competitive programming component just for pickleball.
“We have open play each day for our members to come in that don’t necessarily have a partner,” said Fried. “We’re open for reservations for our JCC members. We’re going to have social mixers in the evenings and the mornings. We’re going to offer pretty much the whole gamut for competitive people, recreational beginners, advanced players and everyone in between.”
A major investment
“We’ve been watching the pick-up in our market for quite some time,” said Powers. “We were one of the first people to do it in 2009 and 2010 by converting basketball courts and tennis courts. And we have seen not only the staying power over the past 15 years, but we’ve seen the explosive growth.”
Like just about everyone who’s been watching the rise of pickleball, Powers and Fried don’t believe it’s a passing fad.
“We believe this is permanent. We believe it’s still in the growth stages,” said Powers. “We also believe this is here to stay.”
“Trends show that the sport is gaining popularity with younger audiences also,” said Powers. “We do have a lot of adults playing with their kids and with their grandkids. We did sell out a pickleball summer camp for one week later in the summer. It is getting a little bit younger, and more and more people are just becoming more involved.”
Future plans for MJCCA
Pickleball pro Michael Andrews is one of the young people who’ve gravitated to the sport. He played tennis competitively and then a few years took up pickleball. He’s been a camper at MJCCA and when they needed someone for pickleball, he fit the bill. He’ll oversee the team play that’s set to begin on Aug. 11.
“We’ll have mixers clinics, youth play after school and high school players, he said. “Right now, we’re just trying to get as many people into the facility as possible.”
MJCCA has already had organizers such as Southern Pickle Ball inquiring about the facility hosting some tournaments.
“We’re trying to open this place up to corporate and rental spaces because they can be here watching TV, eating, playing, sponsoring tournaments, corporate events and fundraisers,” said Fried adding that with all that’s going on at MJCCA, the membership rate starting at $40month for young adults is a bargain.
The Eva G. Lipman Pickleball Complex offers three open-play sessions daily. There are designated courts for beginners, intermediate and advanced players. Learn more at atlantajcc.org/pickleball.