Vacant Bed Bath & Beyond in Collierville could be transformed into indoor pickleball site

A local pickleball club moved one step closer to bringing a semi-permanent facility to a vacant big box department store at Carriage Crossing in Collierville.

The Collierville Planning Commission on Thursday unanimously recommended approval of a conditional use permit for Pickleball 901 Holdings to allow indoor pickleball courts at Carriage Crossing. The item will now go in front of the Collierville Board of Mayor and Aldermen on May 28 for approval.

Adam Clay of Collierville is a majority owner of Pickleball 901 Holdings along with his business partner Jakob Eliason of Bartlett. Clay was excited that the planning commission gave the project the nod needed to push it closer to becoming into fruition.

"I didn't realize I would get a little emotional because this is my baby, and I have been working on this for a year," Clay said. "We've pivoted and we've announced in the past we were going to do something and made some mistakes. This was actually a relatively smooth process. I was expecting to get grilled (by the planning commission) but they are lovely people.... I think everyone knows that pickleball brings a lot of joy. I know it's not all the way because we've got to in front of the (Board of Mayor and Aldermen), but I feel good about where we are at in this process."

Here is a closer look at Pickleball 901 Holdings' plans for the property.

What does Pickleball 901 Holdings want to do at Carriage Crossing?

According to staff reports, Pickleball 901 Holdings is looking to open eight temporary pickleball courts inside the roughly 30,000-square-foot former Bed Bath & Beyond space at 4610 Merchants Park Circle in Collierville. The concept would be called the “Pickleball Pop-Up Club,” Clay said.

Pickleball 901 Holdings would roll out temporary pickleball courts, nets, barriers and all things needed to play pickleball. The facility would also include portable finishing touches such as seating, signage, merchandise on shelves, vending machines and television screens to display information. Pickleball Pop-Up Club would be a pay-to-play model with players paying between $10 to $15 for a day pass, according to the application.

The proposed eight indoor pickleball courts in Carriage Crossing are intended to provide the shopping mall’s owner Edwards Realty a short-term tenant until they get a larger, long-term tenant in the space. Among the things the Pickleball Pop-Club is designed to do is provide revenue to landlords who own dormant retail space, which helps boost the property.

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Pickleball 901 Holdings conservatively expects to see $51,000 monthly revenue after six months and a 45% occupancy use of the indoor facility, according to the application.

“It is going to start as a specialty arrangement where we are going to bring in premium courts, and it’s going to look, feel and smell and act just like a fully built-out pickleball club that you would see that takes months and millions to put together,” Clay said. “But we’re developing a method to convert into retail, these types of clubs as a short-term arrangement until they get a permanent tenant."

However, in the application, Pickleball 901 Holdings says it would like to have the first right of refusal on the property and would turn the club into a permanent facility if the financial outlook is promising.

“But the long-term goal, if pickleball is successful there, we have an opportunity to convert into a more permanent establishment,” Clay said. “The generosity of Edwards (Realty) and their leasing agent (Jones Aur) allows us to come in with a very attractive commercial arrangement. It’s not a lot of risk on either party. If it doesn’t work, then it’s OK, we will leave and take the courts with us for our event business. But if it does work, then we have the proof and then we can move into a more long-term arrangement that could be at Carriage Crossing.”

When would the Pickleball Pop-Up Club open at Carriage Crossing in Collierville?

According to Clay, the plan would be for the proposed Pickleball Pop-Up Club to initially be open for six months to a year, with the goal of opening this summer.

“Our aggressive and optimistic goal is that we’re opening the doors June 1 or somewhere in the first part of June,” Clay said. “There are a lot of things that have to come together and so that is a very optimistic timeframe.”

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Could more Pickleball Pop-Up Club locations come to the Memphis area?

Clay said Carriage Crossing isn’t the only proposed Pickleball Pop-Up Club that Pickleball 901 Holdings is eyeing in the area.

“While there is an established pickleball community out here (in Collierville area), we also are interested in properties in Cordova and Wolfchase area, and we’re extremely interested in something inside the loop,” Clay said. “... We’re just taking our time with getting the right place because first impression is everything… Collierville is the one that we’re hopeful will be the first. But there are other places in play, they’re just not that far along.”

Corey Davis is the Collierville and Germantown reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Corey.Davis@commercialappeal.com or 901-293-1610.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Vacant Bed Bath & Beyond in Collierville could be transformed into indoor pickleball site