Pickle City USA held a grand opening celebration and a ribbon-cutting ceremony June 10 in north Fort Worth. The sports venue is located in the North City mixed-use development at I-35W and US 287.
The details
Pickle City USA has 16 pickleball courts, with 10 indoor and six outdoor courts. The full-service gym features equipment and wellness amenities such as a sauna, red light therapy and cold plunge, said Hannah McKeever, head of membership and corporate sales.
The Bench, a sports bar inside the facility, is open to the public, as well as the pro shop, regardless of membership, she said.
The background
The original grand opening celebration was set for Jan. 31, but was postponed due to Winter Storm Fern.
All the events planned for that day, including an acoustic performance by country music artist Chris Cagle, still happened on June 10.
Before the concert started, McKeever said there were about 600 guests at the facility.
The day featured a lineup of events that started at 9 a.m., which included pickleball clinics, mahjong tables in the event room, a putting green and corn hole.
The opening day for the venue was Feb. 2. Due to the ice storm, the outdoor courts opened two weeks later than the indoor courts, according to previous reporting.
“We didn’t have the courts painted; the ice storm stopped delivers so we didn’t have any countertops, we didn’t have fences, we didn’t have food,” McKeever said of the impact of the storm. “It’s been really exciting from then to now to just watch everything come together.”
What else?
The business recently changed the name from City Pickle USA to Pickle City USA, according to a news release.
McKeever said Pickle City USA now has 350 members, about double the number from when the facility opened four months prior. She said that more than 5,000 people have played at least some pickleball and the average visitor has been there eight times since opening.
“People are loving it and they are coming back, which has been really exciting,” McKeever said.
