The Picklr coming to Cheyenne

The Picklr logo seen on their Loveland storefront - Optopolis

Pickleball chain The Picklr is now actively working toward plans to expand to Cheyenne. Expected to hold a grand opening in December, they will be taking over the old Big Lots space in Cheyenne Plaza--the space previously occupied by Spirit Halloween and DKG's Annual Used Book Sale.

A glimpse at the old Big Lots in Cheyenne Plaza

Not to be confused with the nearby closing Big Lots in Parkway Plaza, the old Big Lots in Cheyenne Plaza has mostly been vacant since 2019 when Big Lots moved across the parking lot to the former Hobby Lobby. Prior to Big Lots, this space was occupied by Pic-N-Save as confirmed by City Directories.

Spirit Halloween occupied the space in 2023, followed by Delta Kappa Gamma in early 2024.

In recent years, the space has been occupied by Delta Kappa Gamma's Annual Used Book Sale (2020, 2022, and 2024) and Spirit Halloween (2021, 2022, and 2023). Both of these occupants will have to find (or in Spirit's case, Spirit already has found) new locations.

The Picklr announces Cheyenne expansion after opening Loveland location

In September 2023, Matt Entrekin of Wyoming News Now reported that The Picklr was set to expand to Cheyenne. Only about a year earlier on November 7th, 2022, The Picklr celebrated the grand opening of their Loveland location, the chain's first location outside of Utah.

The Picklr took over part of Loveland's former Hobby Lobby that was originally a Walmart - Optopolis

At-the-time-one of eighty newly announced locations in the US, the Cheyenne location was anticipated to open in mid-2024. Perhaps this expansion isn't a surprise with the recent explosion in the popularity of pickleball. Cheyenne already has two pickleball fields: one at Beast Foundation and another at Lions Park.

"Mid-2024" came and went. No location was announced publicly. In fact, as of June 2024, The Picklr's homepage randomly stopped displaying the state of Wyoming on its home page in spite of other locations still being listed. It became unclear to Optopolis if The Picklr was even still coming to Cheyenne. However, things have changed.

The Picklr in Cheyenne expected to open by the end of 2024

The Picklr club locator page now indicates that the Cheyenne location will be at 3741 East Lincolnway, the location of the original Cheyenne Big Lots. Their website indicates that the Cheyenne location will have eight courts, a pro shop, private event areas, reservations, tournaments, and more. It displays that the grand opening will be held in December 2024.

The former Big Lots space in Cheyenne plaza, next to Dollar Tree will soon be The Picklr. - Optopolis

Noah Sahn of Wyoming Tribune Eagle recently reported that the owner and operator of the Cheyenne location will be Ray Estes. As confirmed with searches in the Cheyenne planning website, permits have not yet been submitted, but Sahn reported that the lease on the space has been signed and permits are expected to be submitted soon. Perhaps ironically, this may explain why Spirit Halloween relocated to a new store for 2024.

It turns out that Cheyenne's Picklr location isn't the only Front Range location in the process of opening. NocoStyle, a magazine about Northern Colorado, reported that the Cheyenne store is one of fifteen franchises in the Front Range that were sold, including locations as far south as Castle Rock. Three of these are expected to open this year, and at least four more are planned to open in 2025.

[Update 09/08/2024] According to The Picklr Cheyenne, visitors can obtain guest passes and play without a membership. They said they will also have punch cards available when the Cheyenne location opens.

Update 10-21: Permits go in place, work begins

On September 10th, permits were submitted for The Picklr including the following permit types: Amusement/Recreation Indoor Remodel/Addition, Building Permit, Electrical, Plumbing, and Mechanical/HVAC. On October 17th, a Sign permit and another Electrical Permit were submitted, both having to do with sign installation. The Amusement/Recreation Indoor Remodel/Addition permit is already approved, and all the others are currently in progress.

People walk by the soon-to-be The Picklr - Optopolis

Diving into the nitty gritty of the plans; the main set of building plans indicate that lockers and two changing rooms will be located inside what was previously used as a break room. The restrooms will remain, but the drinking fountain is planned to be removed and replaced with two new fountains in a new location--next to the hallway to the restrooms. A shower area is expected to be installed along the hallway and between the two restrooms. The stairs to the mezzanine will be removed, and a new set of stairs will be constructed a few feet south of where they previously were located. Most of the back storage room is set to be used for a warm-up area as well as one of the eight pickle ball courts, but a section of storage space next to the loading dock will remain in place. In the southwest corner of the store (immediately to the right as you walk inside the second set of doors), a lounge and "proshop/check-in" area will be installed. The plans seem to indicate that the existing drop ceiling above the main store floor will be removed, and new lighting is expected to be installed.

The sign permit (which lists the contractor, YESCO LLC, the same company that worked on the Maverik's signage at both of Cheyenne's Kum & Go locations) indicates that two new The Picklr-branded signs will be installed. One sign will be on the front of the former Big Lots. The other sign will be on the on the back side, on the section which The Picklr will use as storage space; this is unlike Big Lots which had their back-facing sign installed above the loading docks. Both of The Picklr's signs will be back-lit at night.

A glimpse of the former Big Lots store as it appears when walking by the storefront in late October; one can potentially see from across the parking lot that the previous drop ceiling had been removed. - Optopolis

One doesn't even need to go up to the front of The Picklr to see that some work is already taking place inside the former Big Lots next to Dollar Tree (not to be confused with the now-former Big Lots across from Aaron's).

Their website already lists hours for the Cheyenne location; it will be open 6 AM to midnight, Sunday through Saturday. The website states that the Cheyenne courts will open in December 2024 although a Facebook post from Cheyenne's Picklr dated October 3rd indicates the Cheyenne location isn't expected to open until January 2025. Upon asking Cheyenne's The Picklr on Facebook, The Picklr stated that they will be opening in mid-January and are having corporate change the date listed on the website.

Perhaps the big question here is, have you played pickleball before? Have you used local facilities, or have you traveled to other locations outside of Cheyenne? Let us know your thoughts on this expansion in the comments!

Published: 09/06/2024 at 1:00 PM

Updated: 09/08/2024 at 2:55 PM MT to add info about membership, guest passes, and punch cards.

Updated: 10/21/2024 at 8:11 PM MT to add new information about the upcoming The Pickr location.