Bellingham is getting this pickleball sports bar
A sport that has grown in popularity around Bellingham will soon have a new indoor facility that will include a bar.
Volli Entertainment Group is planning to bring the first pickleball sports bar to Bellingham. It is going into a 24,000-square-foot building near Whatcom Community College that used to be home to JR Furniture. It should be ready in mid-2022, said Allan Jones, co-owner of the company.
According to a Wikipedia post, pickleball was invented in 1965 on Bainbridge Island. It’s a combination of tennis, badminton and table tennis. It’s garnered a following around Bellingham, including the formation of the Bellingham Pickleball Club in 2018, which promotes the sport by listing places to play and organizing events.
The new pickleball facility is being put together by those with ties to the Summit Trampoline Park, which opened in 2019 near HomeGoods on Meridian Street.
In a phone interview, Allan Jones said the pickleball facility is geared more toward adults but is open to all ages. Along with five pickleball courts, the facility will have other games as well, including golf simulator equipment, shuffleboard, darts and cornhole. Along with cocktails, beer and wine, the bar will have pub-style food.
“Building a pickleball sports bar has been a dream for a long time. This will be a state-of-the-art facility focused on the competitive and fun sport of pickleball. And if pickleball isn’t your thing, we’ve got every indoor activity under the sun. We’ll also have outdoor space for dining and fair-weather activities,” said Dave Jones, co-owner of Volli Bellingham.
The facility, which is at 4190 Cordata Parkway next to Dairy Queen, will have long business hours to cater to different customers, Allan Jones said, from the morning workouts into the late evening. Hours are expected to be around 7 a.m. to 1 1 p.m. The company is planning to hire around 40 part-time workers and have five full-time staff.
For further details about the facility, as well as updates, visit the VolliBellingham website. Volli Entertainment is based in Charleston, South Carolina, and is planning to open other pickleball facilities across the U.S. in the coming year.
This story was originally published November 13, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
