Pickleball Factory in Cape Girardeau targets December opening

A new indoor pickleball facility in Cape Girardeau is nearing completion. The Pickleball Factory, at 1507 Independence St., will feature 14 pickleball courts and a shop for gear and apparel. It is scheduled to open to the public in December.

Jeff Brune, The Pickleball Factory president, first fell in love with the sport when his personal trainers, themselves already pickleball enthusiasts, encouraged him to try it out. He was initially hesitant but took them up on the offer and became invested in the sport.

“I ended up playing for three hours that day. That’s kind of the story you hear about a lot of people who get into pickleball: They’re resistant at first, then then play one game and they’re hooked,” he said.

The Pickleball Factory comprises 34,000 square feet of a 64,000-square-foot facility that used to be the Thorngate factory building. When Brune and other members of the Thorngate Holdings LLC ownership group acquired the building, they were going to use it for Parc Motor Club, a spot for the storage and maintenance of primarily luxury cars.

“Think country club for car people and also climate-controlled storage for luxury cars, classic cars or just extra vehicles people have,” Brune said.

However, the group was unsure there would be enough demand to fill the entire building, as just the floor space of the remaining 30,000-square-foot facility can already fit 100 vehicles. Brune suggested an indoor pickleball court for the rest of the building.

“We’ve been really excited about the response so far, but we knew with our research that we have avid pickleball players in this community who are looking for quality indoor facilities to play in and to call home,” he said.

The pickleball courts are situated in the shadow of a 208-foot mural displaying the company’s name. They were built with seven layers of rubberized material instead of concrete to reduce fatigue and have fencing around them to prevent loose balls from one game interfering with others. A camera at each court records matches and can condense them into highlight reels for social media.

Players will also be able to rent paddles, practice their skills with trainers, listen to live music and order food from an in-house café to eat between matches.

“There are just going to be a lot of things offered here for people of all abilities of pickleball, from the person who’s never even picked up a paddle and doesn’t know the rules to the seasoned veteran who plays five, six times a week,” Brune said.

The facility has been under development for one and a half years, but an April windstorm threw a wrench into the works and literally rained on the situation.

“It tore basically 200 linear feet of our roof back. It came in here like you’d pop a sheet or a towel and it popped every screw on the whole thing. We had so much water in here you wouldn’t believe it. It was insane. But thankfully, we’ve got a new roof and that’s going to last us a while,” Brune said.

To celebrate the upcoming launch, The Pickleball Factory offered up founding membership status for $720 annually. Founding membership grants advanced court booking, free equipment rentals and participation in one tournament or league event monthly, among other benefits. An initial 100 founding memberships were offered. Brune said they sold out within four days.

Other membership tiers include $540 and $840 annual options, plus a $30 monthly baseline choice. Visitors can also play with a $10 daily guest option. All membership options are available at the business’s newly launched website, www.picklecape.com.

The Pickleball Factory and Parc Motor Club are separate businesses entirely, though both owned by the same group and located in the same building. Brune said Thorngate Holdings LLC was targeting an early 2025 opening for the motor club.