Hammond leaders hope pickleball will draw more visitors to the Jean Shepherd Community Center. The city officially reopened the community center Friday, after a two-month renovation project.
Mayor Tom McDermott Jr. said it's a great building, but it's been underutilized in recent years. Now, the building includes 12 indoor pickleball courts and updated food and drink amenities.
"We expect to see hundreds of people use this every single day," McDermott said at Friday's ribbon cutting. "We expect the concession stand/snack bar that used to do a hundred bucks [in business] a night to do thousands of dollars a night."
219 Pickleball will run the pickleball end of the operation, hosting clinics, tournaments and leagues.
Still, Hammond parks administrator Jim Taillon said there's more work to do. "The lounge is going to be set up in there," Taillon explained. "The purple room's going to be for kids, so if you're here and you're playing pickleball, we're going to have some games and stuff for your kids in there. So there's a lot more to do."
Taillon noted that the containment netting hadn't arrived by Friday's opening, so the city had to scramble to find temporary netting. He also plans to once again offer memberships, and previous members will be given the chance to return.
