NW OKC mall thriving with nearly full occupancy and new plans for pickleball courts

Pickleball and a family-focused restaurant and pub are set to bring the Shoppes at Northpark close to full occupancy at a time when enclosed malls are struggling with empty storefronts.
Restaurateur Matt Glenn said the new venue, Northpark Pickleball, will feature six courts inside that was once home to Northpark Cinema and six outdoor courts, including new green space, where surface parking now exists along the less visible east side of the mall.
The plans include a restaurant and bar that will be built out in space previously home to B.C. Clark Jewelers. Glenn is hoping to feature Roman style pizzas that can be ordered by the slice from anywhere in the courts. Wristbands will allow people to buy a range of mixed drinks and beers by the ounce.
'I went to Chicago and saw a lot of that. It's not something we really have here. This is all something we could really use here. I think this will up the game for the whole area.'
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Kevyn Colburn, vice president of mall owner Tom Morris Enterprises, said the pickleball venue is being built out in the space that was the city's oldest movie theater when it closed in 2019.
'We talked to theater operators from across the country who had these grandiose ideas,' Colburn said. 'We got plans from a couple of different architects and theater guys and we were told it could cost $10 million to do what they recommended.'
Those estimates coincided with a a collapse in the movie theater industry during the COVID-19 pandemic — a downturn that has yet to fully end. The odds went up against reopening the theater, which started showing films in 1973.
The pickleball venue will bring life back to the center of the mall facing the east parking lot and will also include the space formerly home to B.C. Clark Jewelers until the store relocated to a more visible location facing May Avenue.
The inspiration for Northpark Pickleball started with Glenn looking for an indoor space to build indoor tennis courts.
'It's a crazy story,' Glenn said. 'My son plays tennis for Memorial High School. He has a coach who coaches outside and he didn't really have an inside court. I was walking around Northpark and thought I could just put it in one of these empty spaces. I told my wife and she said what that place needs is a pickleball court.'
Two years later, seats are being pulled from the former theaters and construction is getting started.
Colburn said the expansion of the pickleball courts, restaurant and bar onto surface parking being turned into green space on the east side of the mall is much easier to envision thanks to the success of The Hamilton, a restaurant operated by the same group that owns Cafe 7.
Previously, the west side of Northpark fronting May Avenue was far more visible with the majority of visitors chosing that side to enter the mall.
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'The Hamilton changed everything on that,' Colburn said. 'When J. Mays (operator of Hamilton) called me, he said he was interested in the space that was S.J. Haggard because of the 'H' on the gate and that it could be done as a speakeasy. That's what sold him and it's been unbelievable. It's been a huge success.'
Mays said The Hamilton has not just survived along the less visible east side of the mall, but has thrived even after scraping by during the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic.
'We had a ton of support from the neighborhood,' Mays said. 'We opened in August of 2019, roughly four months before the world shut down. I feel like our location helped us during the pandemic because we're so close to the neighborhoods with the delivery scheme.'
Mays said he looks forward to the pickleball courts opening near the east side entrance to The Hamilton and the beautification that will come to that part of the property.
Mays' next venure at Northpark, meanwhile, is expected to bring occupancy up to 96% when it opens along with Northpark Pickleball.
Mays is looking to start renovations on the space last leased to Rococo on the north end of the mall to make way for Bush League Sports Tavern. The venue will include golf simulators and a patio.
'It will be a family-centered sports experience,' Mays said. 'Family-friendly food and drink, games, all the things that would make a family to come out and eat. There aren't a lot of places that cater to families, just places that have a kid's menu.'
Mays said after dealing with issues with financing the past couple of years, he is hoping to start construction this month with an opening later this year.
With Bush League, Mays envisions customers including high school teams who can make noise that won't bother others due to televisions playing an array of games. He is working with Smart Spaces to create eight zones of audio for different games to be broadcast with sound throughout the restaurant and bar.
'You might come out and find there is an OU game being place in one space and OSU in another,' Mays said. 'The hardest part is to pick which games to play and which ones not to play. I'm hoping to have an online calendar of games so people can plan out their visits.'
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Pickleball coming to OKC's Northpark mall as it nears full occupancy

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