by Zane Razzaq
William Russell hopes his plans for indoor pickleball courts in Mashpee will respond to “an unmet need year-round on Cape Cod.”
Russell, a businessman, wants to build a 37,000-square-foot facility — named Island Pickle — on the 3.6-acre lot at 51 Evergreen Circle. Planned are a restaurant/tavern, 10 indoor pickleball courts, six indoor golf simulations, locker rooms, and general common areas encompassing 34,500 square foot with 91 parking spaces.
At outdoor courts, snowy or rainy weather can keep players away, he said. Those courts are typically “closed at dusk and they don’t open until after people are at work,” said Russell in a phone interview.
“My facility is intended to be open from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. approximately, so I can accommodate people playing before work or after work, regardless of your schedule,” he said.
Pickleball is typically played on a 44-foot-long and 20-foot-wide court and features players using a paddle to whack a small plastic ball back and forth over a net.
On Cape Cod, there are year-round outdoor pickleball courts available for players in several towns, and some indoor courts that are either year-round or for winter only.
Tailored for both golf and pickleball players
Island Pickle intends to be tailored to both golf and pickleball players with substantial support of professional instructors from both sports. Russell plans to hire PGA professionals to provide lessons in the winter or early spring for people to hone their game before they go outdoors.
Russell also co-owns the Pineapple Caper Cafe in Osterville with his wife and is a commercial real estate specialist with Commercial Realty Advisors.
The site is a vacant, undeveloped lot and is currently owned by Evergreen Energy LLC, which bought it from Cape Cod Cooperative Bank in March 2016 for $1.6 million, according to the assessor’s office.
Russell said he’s under contract for the land and the sale is contingent upon passing permitting and approvals.
Russell had originally been eyeing Capetown Plaza on Iyannough Road in Hyannis as a location, but said that eventually fell through. In April 2023, he was listed as an applicant for a business plan to transform about half of the former Kmart there where Floor & Decor now is into a pickleball complex as part of the WS Development project.
‘Noise insulated’
While the sport has exploded in popularity in recent years, its loudness has proven to be controversial. In 2023, a Barnstable Superior Court judge allowed for a preliminary injunction in Falmouth barring the game at a certain set of pickleball courts due to neighbor complaints.
“My tavern will be noise insulated from the indoor courts, so the indoor courts will themselves have acoustic restrictions to minimize the noise when you’re in the court areas,” said Russell. “But outside those court areas, whether you’re at my outdoor patio or in the golf area or you’re in the tavern itself, those are going to have significant noise reduction from the noise of play.”
Next steps for project
At the May 2024 town meeting in Mashpee, voters approved a zoning bylaw amendment for the project because the lot is in an industrial zone that previously did not allow for indoor recreational facilities.
In January, the Cape Cod Commission approved the project as a development of regional impact, with conditions. The commission review was required because the planned facility will be over 10,000 square feet.
The next step is for Russell to obtain a special permit from the Mashpee Planning Board. The process, beginning on Feb. 5, could last several weeks, he said. After a Planning Board review, if successful, Russell can file his final building permit application.
If successful, he estimates that construction could begin mid-April, and he is eyeing a potential November opening.