Bangers and Dinks owner Nicole Thompson. (Jack Jacobs photos)
Recent pickleball converts have now opened a center dedicated to the sport in Chesterfield.
Bangers and Dinks, an indoor facility with eight pickleball courts, opened Saturday at 1516 Koger Center Blvd., near Chesterfield Towne Center.
Owner Nicole Thompson said the venue, which as far as she knows is the first of its kind in the region, is making a bet on an open-play model as opposed to what she said was the more common practice of court reservations.
“What makes us different from anywhere else I’ve seen is we’re open play all the time. Most indoor pickleball places you have to reserve a court,” she said. “In here, we don’t do that. You pay a monthly membership fee and you show up to play as often as you want.”
Bangers and Dinks is going that route to create a more casual play environment for customers and drive more action on the courts.
“People get a chance to play more often. There’s pressure to jump online and compete with other people to get your time (at other centers that require reservations),” Thompson said. “We really want this place to be positive and fun.”
Bangers and Dinks leases a 25,000-square-foot space that was formerly occupied by Home-Makers Furniture Designs. The center features a small pro shop and lounge areas outfitted with outdoor furniture and artificial turf throughout the space to create the sense of being outside.
Thompson declined to share the investment made in the space.
Riverstone was the project’s general contractor. Thomas Lynde and Colton Konvicka of Commonwealth Commercial Partners represented Bangers and Dinks in lease negotiations for its space.
Bangers and Dinks features eight courts at its indoor pickleball center in Chesterfield County.
Bangers and Dinks offers food and beverages through a deal with Henrico-based Trolley House Refreshments, which has set up one of its Micro Markets at the center. The Micro Market is a grab-and-go, self-service kiosk stocked with sandwiches, snacks and beverages.
Thompson said she allowed Trolley House to operate at Bangers and Dinks for free, and that Trolley House keeps the money it makes on sales. With this approach, Thompson said her employees can focus on pickleball and players have more reason to hang out at the center.
“My employees are focused on the customer and making sure everything is working functionally on the courts. … That way they’re not checking expiration dates and inventory levels and things like that,” Thompson said. “It creates an environment where people can come and stay. We want people to come play a game, grab a snack and drink, hang out with your friends.”
The venue has 10 part-time employees and was still hiring for several more roles last week.
Bangers and Dinks features a food-and-beverage kiosk and pro shop in addition to its pickleball courts.
Bangers and Dinks offers several memberships that grant access to unlimited play in the center.
Individual membership costs $68 a month and a dual membership (for two people in the same household) is $119 per month. The venue’s family plan starts at $119 for two people and costs an extra $25 per person for up to five people in one household.
The venue is open to non-members as well, and offers a $12 pass for day-long access.
Thompson said in her interview last week that Bangers and Dinks had already sold memberships but declined to share the tally.
“We are on track to meet our goal,” she said.
Bangers and Dinks is open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. everyday. The venue doesn’t have an age limit.
Thompson and her husband, who co-owns the business, were introduced to pickleball last summer and shortly thereafter started to make moves toward the creation of the center.
The company’s name is a reference to pickleball terms. A banger is a player who hits the ball hard. A dink is an arching, soft hit.
While focused on launching the center and seeing how the open-play model is received, Thompson said the company could potentially add more locations or look to expand with a larger location in the future.
“The open-play model is very different. It hasn’t been tested yet and that is what we’re focusing on – getting ourselves up and running and (making sure) that the customer experience is solid and that the open-play model and the numbers work,” she said.
Bangers and Dinks isn’t the only local private venture that seeks to capitalize on the recent surge in popularity of pickleball. At Regency mall in Henrico, Performance Pickleball RVA is working on an 18-court center with both indoor and outdoor courts.
That venue is taking shape in a 41,000-square-foot space that was formerly home to one of Regency’s two Macy’s stores. Performance Pickleball held a ground-breaking ceremony for the project in May and is expected to complete its first phase of construction in December.
Bangers and Dinks owner Nicole Thompson. (Jack Jacobs photos)
Recent pickleball converts have now opened a center dedicated to the sport in Chesterfield.
Bangers and Dinks, an indoor facility with eight pickleball courts, opened Saturday at 1516 Koger Center Blvd., near Chesterfield Towne Center.
Owner Nicole Thompson said the venue, which as far as she knows is the first of its kind in the region, is making a bet on an open-play model as opposed to what she said was the more common practice of court reservations.
“What makes us different from anywhere else I’ve seen is we’re open play all the time. Most indoor pickleball places you have to reserve a court,” she said. “In here, we don’t do that. You pay a monthly membership fee and you show up to play as often as you want.”
Bangers and Dinks is going that route to create a more casual play environment for customers and drive more action on the courts.
“People get a chance to play more often. There’s pressure to jump online and compete with other people to get your time (at other centers that require reservations),” Thompson said. “We really want this place to be positive and fun.”
Bangers and Dinks leases a 25,000-square-foot space that was formerly occupied by Home-Makers Furniture Designs. The center features a small pro shop and lounge areas outfitted with outdoor furniture and artificial turf throughout the space to create the sense of being outside.
Thompson declined to share the investment made in the space.
Riverstone was the project’s general contractor. Thomas Lynde and Colton Konvicka of Commonwealth Commercial Partners represented Bangers and Dinks in lease negotiations for its space.
Bangers and Dinks features eight courts at its indoor pickleball center in Chesterfield County.
Bangers and Dinks offers food and beverages through a deal with Henrico-based Trolley House Refreshments, which has set up one of its Micro Markets at the center. The Micro Market is a grab-and-go, self-service kiosk stocked with sandwiches, snacks and beverages.
Thompson said she allowed Trolley House to operate at Bangers and Dinks for free, and that Trolley House keeps the money it makes on sales. With this approach, Thompson said her employees can focus on pickleball and players have more reason to hang out at the center.
“My employees are focused on the customer and making sure everything is working functionally on the courts. … That way they’re not checking expiration dates and inventory levels and things like that,” Thompson said. “It creates an environment where people can come and stay. We want people to come play a game, grab a snack and drink, hang out with your friends.”
The venue has 10 part-time employees and was still hiring for several more roles last week.
Bangers and Dinks features a food-and-beverage kiosk and pro shop in addition to its pickleball courts.
Bangers and Dinks offers several memberships that grant access to unlimited play in the center.
Individual membership costs $68 a month and a dual membership (for two people in the same household) is $119 per month. The venue’s family plan starts at $119 for two people and costs an extra $25 per person for up to five people in one household.
The venue is open to non-members as well, and offers a $12 pass for day-long access.
Thompson said in her interview last week that Bangers and Dinks had already sold memberships but declined to share the tally.
“We are on track to meet our goal,” she said.
Bangers and Dinks is open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. everyday. The venue doesn’t have an age limit.
Thompson and her husband, who co-owns the business, were introduced to pickleball last summer and shortly thereafter started to make moves toward the creation of the center.
The company’s name is a reference to pickleball terms. A banger is a player who hits the ball hard. A dink is an arching, soft hit.
While focused on launching the center and seeing how the open-play model is received, Thompson said the company could potentially add more locations or look to expand with a larger location in the future.
“The open-play model is very different. It hasn’t been tested yet and that is what we’re focusing on – getting ourselves up and running and (making sure) that the customer experience is solid and that the open-play model and the numbers work,” she said.
Bangers and Dinks isn’t the only local private venture that seeks to capitalize on the recent surge in popularity of pickleball. At Regency mall in Henrico, Performance Pickleball RVA is working on an 18-court center with both indoor and outdoor courts.
That venue is taking shape in a 41,000-square-foot space that was formerly home to one of Regency’s two Macy’s stores. Performance Pickleball held a ground-breaking ceremony for the project in May and is expected to complete its first phase of construction in December.
Interesting model, but I’d be curious if the lack of a reservation system as a selling point is a fatal design flaw. If this place is successful and has lots of customers, what happens when courts are full, people show up and are unable to play due to people hogging the courts? As a business, having too many customers would be a good problem, but something they would have to reckon with down the line. Most places solve this by having the very same reservation system that the owners currently oppose.
Just like with public courts, players rotate off after a game to 11 and the next set of four players rotates on. This happened when the doors opened for the first time to members during the very-well attended soft opening on June 30 (best kind of problem to have – a full house!) and the wait was less than ten minutes for the next game at its busiest.
I played there this morning and not having to deal with July heat and humidity was a blessing. Six of eight courts were occupied most of the time while I was there, so there was always a good next game waiting. It’s wonderful not having to deal with wind, weather, lack of daylight/sun in your eyes. Also, there are proper restrooms, changing rooms, tables and chairs for socializing, and good food and beverage options, most of which we lack in the public parks. I’ve been playing all our local courts since 2016, and this is a BIG upgrade. I feel… Read more »
Without reservations, you are forced to play doubles. People need to know that there are a lot of people that only play singles.