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Highland Park social club offers upscale indoor pickleball; ‘We want you to feel like you’re on vacation’
The country’s leisure time has undergone a major transformation in recent years — We’re now a pickleball nation.
Anyone who has stepped onto a pickleball court will agree it’s the fastest-growing sport in America, and that jump in popularity has led to a boom of pickleball businesses, including the opening of countless indoor courts.
Such is the case in Highland Park, where at least two new pickleball-focused indoor facilities are now in operation or soon to open. That includes the Dinx Social Club, whose owners and founders David and Brooke Sloane said is creating a new tier of pickleball offerings for the area.
There, 23,000 square feet of former grocery store space has been turned into a luxury indoor pickleball facility, with six courts, several golf simulators, a self-pour bar and food offerings.
“We want you to feel like you’re on vacation,” David Sloane said.
Sloane and his wife both come from the real estate world. Like “most of the United States,” he said, they got into pickleball during the pandemic.
“We got into it, we enjoyed it, but it wasn’t until we were on a family trip to Florida with our extended family and we were at a facility … where we saw the potential for the area,” he said.
But unlike Florida, the weather in the Midwest isn’t conducive to playing outdoors year-round. Building an indoor facility comes with numerous requirements, Sloane said, including the ceiling height, column spacing and building dimensions. He didn’t want a slapdash operation, Sloane said, shoving as many courts as could fit into whatever building he could find.
The ceilings are more than 18 feet high, Sloane said. Extra thought has been put into the lighting, from brightness to temperature. Dead spots were ground out of the floor, and the glass walls that separate the courts help with sound dampening.
Because pickleball is incredibly popular, the clientele has high standards for what they expect, Sloane said.
“It’s been exciting and fun,” he said. “It’s also daunting, because there are a lot of people here who care very much about the game and the quality of play, so getting that right for our customers has been key.”
He hopes to build a connection between the players and the club, hence the emphasis on additional offerings beyond just some courts. Currently, the club is open to everyone as Dinx builds a community.
In the future, it will transition into a private-membership model, Sloan said, comparing it to a golf club. He encourages people to check out what the business has to offer in the meantime.
Also in Highland Park is Club Pickle & Padel, currently under construction along Skokie Valley Road, which is expected to open later this year. The collaboration between the city of Highland Park and its Park District will offer 10 pickleball courts and 4 padel courts under a newly constructed 50,000-square-foot dome.
According to the Park District’s website, the new dome structure was recently installed and inflated.
Makers Market being held downtown Saturday to celebrate home-grown Elgin businesses
More than 20 local vendors will be set up along newly renovated DuPage Court in downtown Elgin Saturday as part of Makers Market, a pop-up event being held by the Downtown Neighborhood Association of Elgin.
From 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Elgin-based businesses selling everything from baked goods and jewelry to art pieces, dog cookies and beauty products will fill the outdoor venue in an homage of sorts to the city’s long history as a manufacturing base notable for its butter and dairy products and the Elgin Watch Co.
The Made in Elgin initiative also will showcase the $3 million in renovations made to DuPage Court, located between Spring Street and South Grove Avenue, so it could be better used as a site for outdoor events. In addition to infrastructure improvements, including new sewer, sanitary and water lines, enhancements include a new gateway, paving bricks, benches, stage area for amplified live music and other entertainment, and movable tables and chairs.
Made in Elgin is a DNA campaign done in partnership with the Elgin Area Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Development Group, offering a free registry for local businesses that produce items in the city. A “Made in Elgin” seal can be affixed to the business and used as a marketing tool, DNA Executive Director Jennifer Fukala said.
Local vendors without bricks-and-mortar locations can get a feel for how things work in Elgin through the Saturday event in the hope they might eventually become part of the downtown retail scene, she said.
In addition to businesses selling their wares, Makers Market also will feature family-friendly activities, including areas set up for kids craft area and to build bird houses, live music and demonstrations.
Among the vendors on hand will be artist Ken Simonsen, who plans to sell original signed prints and sculpted pieces.
“I’m an Elgin resident, and I’ve been doing business in Elgin for over 20 years,” Simonsen said. “The excellent group of people at the DNA are not only accommodating, but are great at promoting these events.
“Last year was my first experience vending at the downtown (summer farmers) market. I made a lot of great connections and (while) it was profitable, my crazy schedule will only allow me a few days this season.”
Another vendor will be Jennifer Monterroso, owner of La Joya De Taxco, which specializes in silver jewelry.
“This is a family business that started with my grandmother more than 30 years ago. She passed it along to her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren,” Monterroso said.
She’s been taking part in special pop-up and seasonal markets in Elgin for three years, she said.
“I love all the changes that have been going on downtown because of the DNA, and want to support their purpose,” Monterroso said. ”I hope to get more exposure at the Makers Market, and that will help build a broader clientele for my business.”
For a list of vendors and more information on the Makers Market, go to www.downtownelgin.com/made-in-elgin .
Mike Danahey is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.
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