91视频

A new indoor entertainment center is in the works for Northeast Portland. People鈥檚 Court will feature pickleball with 11 courts, but also have space for cornhole, ping-pong, bocce, and classic arcade games. There will be a new pizzeria and bar as well.

Why pickleball?

鈥淲ell, pickleball is really compatible with what we are trying to do,鈥� said Dave Schrott, co-owner of the property with Robert Sacks. They also share ownership in the operating entity with Dave Sacks 鈥� Robert鈥檚 son.

People鈥檚 Court is intended to be a social place rather than a health club, Schrott said.

鈥�(Pickleball) is also exploding right now with popularity,鈥� he said.

The sport is a combination of tennis, ping-pong, and badminton. It鈥檚 played with a paddle and a hard, Wiffle-style ball on a court about one-third the size of a tennis court. Pickleball鈥檚 popularity in the U.S. between 2019 and 2021, making it the nation鈥檚 fastest-growing sport.

Young people play it, Schrott said, but added, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think there is a senior facility being built in the country without a pickleball court too.鈥�

While there will be six outdoor pickleball courts and five indoor ones at the facility, it really will be a multi-court, family friendly place, Schrott said. There will also be 10 cornhole courts, 10 ping-pong tables, five bocce courts, and an arcade with pinball machines and video games like Pac-Man. How the facility will operate is still in the works 鈥� but he imagines that there will be a time when people can reserve courts, but with one only for walk-ins.

A $1.8 million building permit was issued by the Bureau of Development Services recently for some of the construction to convert the space formerly occupied by 鈥淭he Lumberyard,鈥� an indoor mountain bike park, into the People鈥檚 Court. Schrott expects the center, at 2700 N.E. 82nd Ave., to open this summer.

The pickleball courts will be among the few indoor ones in the Portland-metro area open to the public; opened in Clackamas last year. Some outdoor courts exist, however, and the city of Portland has plans to along Laurelhurst Park into pickleball courts and a skate park.

Schrott said he and his business partners had been thinking of this concept for some time. The 64,000-square-foot property was purchased around 2009, when the building still held a 42-lane AMF bowling alley. Then the space was modified for The Lumberyard; however, its lease ended in July 2022. Now, with the facility back in the owners鈥� hands, Schrott said they want to bring back a social atmosphere much like the bowling alley offered.

Architect Lorraine Guthrie said that while the place will have a different look and feel, no substantial changes are planned for the building 鈥� except for removal of exterior murals. Work will primarily consist of constructing courts and expanding the restaurant space to be about 3,200 square feet. There will also be an additional 3,000 square feet of food and beverage areas integrated with the pickleball, ping-pong, bocce and cornhole courts.

Work is under way on the building transformation. The general contractor for the project is Algonquin Construction; Schrott is a co-owner.