Times Square’s New Year’s Eve ball will have a sporty new neighbor next week — pickleball.
CityPickle, which operates a half-dozen Big Apple venues, will launch its first all-indoor location on Feb. 20 in the Paramount Building at 1501 Broadway at West 44th Street. The opening comes 60 years after the legendary former Paramount Theater on the site closed on Feb. 21, 1966.
The 37,000-square-foot facility – the city’s largest dedicated indoor spot for what’s said to be the nation’s fastest-growing sport – will fill the century-old landmark office tower’s entire eighth floor.
Seven playing courts — plus a cafe, a bar, private event spaces and CityPickle’s corporate headquarters — will take up what was once the highest level of the cinema-turned live events showplace that closed decades ago.
Among other tech features, video cameras will let players easily keep score and instant-replay their latest moves on their devices.
CityPickle founders Mary Cannon and Erica Desai wanted a full-scale indoor facility, but it wasn’t easy finding one with the large floor plate and architectural features they needed.
“We toured countless properties,” Desai said. “The courts require large, column-free layouts, something incredibly rare in this market.
“The moment we stepped in, we knew we had found it,” Cannon added. “The theater’s original structure – expansive, open, unobstructed and with soaring ceilings – lends itself perfectly to our vision.”
The venue’s food and beverage operation will be run by CityPickle chief operating officer Kim Russen, a former managing partner of Tao Group.
CityPickle will offer 120 memberships that will provide priority access and other benefits, but the site will be open to all. The growing company was recently awarded a 20-year city license to operate Central Park’s Wollman Rink in partnership with Related Companies.
The 10-year lease with Paramount landlords Rosemark Management and Levin Management reflects the trend of property owners finding new or unconventional uses for former office floors. Pickleball has proven a powerful draw that can attract tenants at revitalized locations such as Vornado’s PENN 1.
The 1920s-vintage, 900,000 square-foot Paramount Building is more than 80% leased to a diverse array of smaller tenants, including the Martha Graham Dance Company that just moved into a 30,000 square-foot facility twice the size of its former West Village home.
The building recently enjoyed a $50 million capital improvements program, according to Ryan Alexander, head of a CBRE leasing team.
Retail tenants include the giant Hard Rock Cafe and Carmine’s restaurant.
An Avison Young team represented CityPickle.
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