mobanmarketGUILFORD, CT — Pickleball is coming to Guilford as an indoor facility at the former Walmart.
Quin Howe, one of the partners of Blaze Pickle, is looking to open an indoor pickleball facility with 12 courts by October.
“We are waiting to get our courts installed, and we are hoping to get our courts installed by the end of September so we can have a grand opening that first weekend of October. That’s what we’re shooting for,” he said.
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Blaze Pickle is planning on having a big open house event during its grand opening, Howe said, with free clinics and potentially a big opening tournament.
“We are excited to open up and become part of the community and meet all the players I haven’t met before and continue to grow the great sport in a town that I think it will thrive in,” he said.
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Howe said their goal for the pickleball club is to be something other than a high-end country club-style tennis club.
“We want to be a place that’s going to be very accessible, very affordable, and a place that people are going want to gather and play pickleball,” he said.
Besides the 12 courts, Howe said they plan to have a small lounge area for seating, TVs and a few small changing areas.
“The crown jewel of this space will be the courts,” he said. “All 12 courts are going to be spaced out nicely. The building’s ceiling height is about 20 feet, so the space is conducive to good pickleball play, and that’s what we are putting our entire business model around.”
Howe said they plan on programming, open play, tournaments, private court reservations, lessons, and clinics.
With Target eyeing the exact location to open a new store, Howe said they have a short-term lease with the building owner from September through May 31.
“Depending on when Target is ready to move in, I’m in that deal, so I have no idea what’s going on, but if Target is still planning on moving in or starting a renovation in August of next year, then we will pack up and move our stuff to a new location,” Howe said.
When and if they end up moving, Howe said they will work with the Town of Guilford to help find a new and permanent location.
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“If for some reason Target is delayed, we are going to stay put until essentially they need the space for their long-term lease,” he said.
Howe is not new to the racket sports space; he played competitive tennis and Division 1 College Tennis and then started managing and owning tennis clubs in Florida, Connecticut and other parts of New England.
Currently, Howe has been the operator and director of the Glastonbury Tennis Club for the past 12 years.
“I love developing programs, running junior programs, adult programs, and making some of these clubs thrive,” he said. “Pickleball has been hot in many clubs that I’ve worked at for the last couple of years, so I took it upon myself to build a good team and take a shot at a pickleball-only club.”
The model they are working with at Blaze Pickle is simplistic, and all their infrastructure can easily be moved from one building to another.
“We are going to be using this upcoming season as a test to see how much traction we can get in the market,” Howe said. “If we can get enough members playing indoors to make it worthwhile for us to try to find a more permanent location and potentially open multiple locations in the future.”
When Blaze Pickle was looking for a location to start, Howe said they kept coming back to the former Walmart location in Guilford.
“I know the shoreline towns are rich in historical sense with racket sports and indoor tennis clubs, and I thought there would be a need for this in that market,” he said. “Initially, when I started my search, the Guilford location was one of the first ones that popped up with the agents I was working with. The location is amazing, and it has easy access.”
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