Could the Danbury Mall Be a Successful Pickleball Facility?

According to the Patch, Stamford, CT will be the site of an 80,000 square foot Pickleball facility.

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The Pickleball complex is going into an empty anchor space at the Stamford Town Center that used to be Saks Off Fifth. Construction is about to get underway, according to the report and it will be called Pickleball America.

According to CNBC, Pickleball is America's fastest growing sport with more than 36 million people playing it in the last year. That number is only growing as the sport gets more celebrity and media interest.

You can't go anywhere right now without someone mentioning Pickleball. That kind of heat has to be attractive to businesses small and large, like for instance, the Danbury Fair Mall. Forgive me for asking the simpleton questions but, why not us? Why not Danbury? Why not now?

The Danbury mall ownership group Macerich and their management team have done an amazing job of staying relevant in an e-commerce world. It takes a wide variety of entertainment and experiential shopping to get people to go to spend money anywhere but Amazon. But they seem to still be thriving over at the Danbury Fair. So, why not throw another juggernaut into the mix?

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I know the mall is in the midst of a lot of moving parts, namely a two-story Target location that is coming in. But I feel like Danbury is as ready for Pickleball as any community. I can't say for sure if the Danbury Fair has the space to install a Pickleball complex? I don't know if there is a business to partner with the mall? I have no inside knowledge. The only thing I know for sure is, if there is a Pickleball facility in Danbury in the next decade, I'll be taking credit for it.

We talked about this on the Wednesday (4/5/23) edition of the I-95 Morning Show

Check out the Ethan, Lou & Large Dave Podcast on Apple and Spotify

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What is Pickleball?

According to Pickleball USA, it's a sport that combines many elements of tennis, badminton and ping pong.

Why is it so popular?

Pickleball Adventure says it is easy to learn, easy to play, highly accessible, you don't need much equipment, it's an excellent low-impact workout and it's fun.

Is Pickleball brand new?

The sport was invented in 1965 by three dads in Washington State.

Where can I play locally?

According to Pickleheads , there are some places to play locally, like:
Martin Park in Ridgefield
Outside Yanity Gym in Ridgefield
New Milford Tennis and Swim Club
The closest Pickleball mega-center is the Pickleball Barn in Brewster, NY if I'm not mistaken.
There is an organization called GDP (Greater-Danbury Pickleball) that would probably be a great resource for more organized information if you're looking to get serious.

While I hear wonderful things about all these places, I'd think a city like Danbury, of nearly 90,000 people could probably fill up a few courts. So, let's go mall people, let's pickle! I can open an accessory snack shack right next to the courts in case anyone wants a snack. Uncle Petie's Peppered Pickle Palace is ready to move some salted cumbers.

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Check out the Ethan, Lou & Large Dave Podcast on Apple and Spotify

Danbury Resident Has Astonishing Close Encounter With Famous Moose

His name is Daryl Pitman, and he's a Danbury resident who recently had a super-close encounter with a moose that has become famous in the Greater-Danbury area. In the past few days this moose has been seen in multiple Danbury locations, it's been seen in Newtown, New Fairfield, Woodbury and even Pawling, NY to name a few.

I saw Daryl's pictures in a different moose related thread and reached out to him. I asked him to tell me more. I wanted to know if these photos were real? Did he take the pictures? Was this in Danbury? When was this? How did he feel. An excited Daryl got back to me with the following responses.

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