Drew Brees is expanding his pickleball empire to include a new indoor facility in Metairie.
Pickle N Pins, an entertainment facility co-founded by Brees and Darren Balsamo, is set to open by the end of September at 6930 Veterans Memorial Blvd. near Lafreniere Park.
The site will offer pickleball, padel, duckpin bowling, darts, axe throwing and cornhole, as well as a full bar and restaurant.
Pickle N Pins will replace Surge Adventure Park, an entertainment center owned by the same duo that opened in the Magnolia Shopping Center in 2017.
“Pickle N Pins is truly one of a kind, nothing like this exists in the country and we are excited to bring it to Metairie first,” Brees wrote in a press release shared on Facebook.
It will have five pickleball courts, along with two padel courts. Padel is a blend of squash and tennis that originated in Mexico using a short racquet covered in holes instead of strings.
The entertainment venue will be geared toward adults but still family-friendly, the release said.
Over 1,000 new pickleball courts were added across the U.S. last year as the sport has continued to explode with popularity, according to USA Pickleball. Jefferson Parish officials estimated last fall that 300-500 residents play pickleball each week.
Brees is among those enamored by the sport — the former Saints quarterback launched and headlined the NOLA Pickleball Festival last year and co-owns a professional team based in Los Angeles. Brees is opening another indoor pickleball facility in Biloxi, Mississippi later this year.
He met Balsamo during a birthday party for one of his sons at the Surge park in Metairie, and the two partnered in the business months later.
Brees owns a number of other business ventures across the New Orleans area, like Small Sliders restaurant chain, Walk-On’s Sports Bistreaux and Surge Entertainment.
Elsewhere in Metairie, Jefferson Parish is building nine new outdoor pickleball courts at the Mike Miley Playground on West Metairie Avenue near David Drive that’s expected to be completed by the end of the year. The project costs the parish $1 million.
Pickleball is played on badminton-sized courts in singles or doubles, where opponents volley a plastic ball back-and-forth using wooden paddles. The game originated on Bainbridge Island, Washington in 1965, though the sport has only recently gained mainstream popularity for its accessibility across age groups.