TOWN OF DEWITT – The Erie Canal Pickleball Center has officially opened at 3179 Erie Blvd. E. in the DeWitt Town Center. The indoor facility is located between the pet supply store CountryMax and the Five Guys restaurant, in the same spot where there used to be a Sky Zone trampoline park. The pickleball center contains nine courts and welcomes players of all skill levels, serving as a place where they can improve their game and connect with others socially. Brook Bregman coordinates the programming for CNY Pickleball to accommodate players at every pickleball facility in towns and outdoor parks throughout Central New York, including at the Erie Canal Pickleball Center that had its soft opening starting Thursday, Jan. 9 and then a grand opening Saturday, Jan. 11, with music, food and drinks. Bregman said the space in the DeWitt Town Center acts as a “central location” since the entire east side of town has had, according to her, a lack of pickleball courts for a while now. On top of that, Bregman said the property owner Bill Cleary has put a lot into making it a “fantastic” facility for practiced pickleball players and people just getting into the paddle sport alike, to the point that it’s one of the best places to play in her view out of the 350-or-so locations with courts in CNY. One plus that not every location has is the Erie Canal Pickleball Center’s individually fenced courts, for example. “When you go to some of these different places to play, if you hit a ball to the side or past someone, it just runs onto the next court, so every other point you’re stopping a game to get that person’s ball,” Bregman said. The walls of the newly opened DeWitt pickleball center are lined with historical Erie Canal photos all pieced together to form a continuous mural, referencing the fact that Erie Boulevard marks the former path of the Erie Canal. “A perfect coincidence,” Bregman said, is that the waterway was completed in 1825, meaning this month’s opening of the pickleball center that gives a nod to it in name coincides with the 200th anniversary of the Erie Canal. The sport of pickleball has steadily grown in popularity in recent years, evidenced by the jump from 500 to 5,000 players registered under CNY Pickleball’s watch locally over just these last three years by Bregman’s count. Pickleball’s popularity, she said, owes to the sport’s “low barrier to entry” and the community feel that comes with playing in a public space. “With each game, you’re supposed to play with a new person against new opponents, so it’s a way for people to meet each other and make new friends,” Bregman said. “You may not get to be great, but anyone can get to a level where they would have fun.” She added that it’s easy to want to keep going once you start playing and that joining games makes for a solid workout, but not so much that it would be overly tiring if you were to play for a couple of hours on end. For those who haven’t played before, pickleball combines elements of tennis, badminton and ping-pong. Games can be played as singles or doubles matches, and they’re normally played to 11 points with the winner having to win by two. Players wear special shoes on the actual courts and the light blue non-volley area is commonly known as “the kitchen,” while the plastic, perforated ball has to bounce once on each side of the net after a serve. “You’re standing in the dark blue areas and then you’re just having rallies for as long as you can, keeping the ball low over the net until somebody pops it up high and then you slam it down,” Bregman said. The Erie Canal Pickleball Center offers open play, leagues, tournaments, clinics, one-on-one lessons, beginner intros and private court reservations. People can always stop in and pay for individual $12.50 sessions lasting approximately two hours on the days they play, or they can sign up for a monthly membership to enjoy unlimited play whenever they please, which costs $59 until Jan. 31 as an earlybird special. In the coming weeks, the pickleball center is set to have its upstairs restaurant and full-service bar completely constructed and up and running. That section of the space will be surrounded by a glass railing so that people eating can continue to watch pickleball games happening below. The restaurant will have menu items like pizzas and charcuterie boards, while the bar will have different cocktails and on-tap beers. “I think it’ll be a great place to just grab drinks with friends or have a meal after you’ve met some new wonderful people on the court, or you’ve gotten your group together and then you all want to go have a drink afterwards,” Bregman said. For more information about membership options, costs and policies, as well as anything else about the center, those interested can visit eriecanalpickleball.com, call 315-214-3953, or contact [email protected] The Erie Canal Pickleball Center’s hours of operation are Monday through Thursday 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.