CNN: Pickleball, virtual golf, skydiving, craft beer: How malls are luring shoppers
Pickleball, virtual golf, skydiving, craft beer: How malls are luring shoppers - As reported by Parija Kavilanz for CNN Business.
As Covid restrictions ease, expect to see more malls morph into family entertainment destinations where shopping may not even be what draws shoppers in.
CNN spoke to Tanger Outlets CEO, Stephen Yalof about some of the business opportunities he has seen help draw in more shoppers to the malls, including a tease to an entertainment pickleball venue that the company is currently in talks with.
Read the full CNN feature, including USA Pickleball's Laura Gainor's thoughts on a "pickleball player's dream!"
"One of our new executive vice presidents is a ranked Pickleball player," said Yalof. He said Tanger is currently in talks with a company that combines Pickleball and food and beverage options.
Malls are an ideal setting for the game, said Laura Gainor of USA Pickleball, the national governing body of the sport. "It is a Pickleball player's dream, because it's a big indoor space and you can play the sport year-round," she said.A Pickleball court is one-fourth the size of a tennis court.
"You can fit six or even 12 courts in an empty department store space," she said. "And these courts can be permanent or temporary. It only takes a couple of minutes to set up a court and to dismantle it."
