Indoor racquet club opening soon

Jake Spitzack
Staff Writer

Thick blankets of snow and subzero temperatures will no longer stand in the way of area residents who want to enjoy pickleball, squash and other racquet sports year-round. The Heights Racquet and Social Club is scheduled to open December 1 at 1415 Mendota Heights Road, Mendota Heights. It will feature four pickleball courts, three single squash courts, one doubles squash court and one court for padel, which is similar to pickleball and played in many parts of the world. Members get unlimited play, and times will be set aside each week for non-members to drop in for a small fee.

“Pickleball is such a fun sport to play,” said co-owner Glenn Baron. “You hear people talk about how it’s easy to play but hard to master…. I don’t think the pickleball community is necessarily that hyper-serious about winning and losing. It’s more about just enjoying the game and the outing, getting some exercise, and having fun.”

Baron and co-owners John Lonnquist and Chris Hilger (Securian Financial CEO) are passionate squash players. They hatched the plan for the business a little over a year ago after catching wind that their squash club in St. Paul was being sold and they could no longer play there. Determined to keep their social circle and opportunities to play intact, they searched for a suitable industrial building to start their own club. Baron, who is retired, was already a part owner of a warehouse building in Mendota Heights so the decision to establish the business there was relatively easy.

To make the project possible, the Mendota Heights City Council amended a city code to allow commercial outdoor recreation uses in the Industrial Zoning District. In addition to reservable courts, the facility will feature locker rooms with showers and saunas, equipment rentals and a pro shop. It will also have a space for people to socialize or – for those with remote jobs – get work done. Next spring will see the addition of four outdoor pickleball courts and two outdoor padel courts, as well as a bar inside that will serve food and drinks.

“We didn’t want to just build a squash club because there frankly aren’t that many squash players in the Twin Cities, so we decided we would put pickleball courts in because it’s super popular these days,” said Baron. “We’re strong advocates of trying to build squash players in the Twin Cities so we’ll do everything in our power to get pickleball players to try squash…. Padel is crazy popular in Europe and South America, and in Mexico where it was invented in the 1960s. It’s kind of like a big brother of pickleball in some ways.”

For the uninitiated, pickleball is played on a court slightly larger than half a tennis court, and players rally a type of wiffleball with paddles that are up to one square foot in size. With less court space to cover than tennis, it’s easier for all ages to play, although it remains fast-paced. Due to a boom in its popularity, Mendota Heights has added a dozen outdoor courts in the city’s parks in recent years.

Likewise, padel is played in an enclosed court with a net and players can hit the ball off the back wall. It requires more movement than pickleball but less than tennis. Baron said courts are popping up on the East Coast and in Florida but that the Heights Racquet and Social Club will be one of the first in the Upper Midwest to have them. Squash on the other hand has had a place in Minnesota for many years. It places all players on the same side of an enclosed court and players hit a hollow rubber ball against the opposite wall to the other team. It’s similar to racquetball, the main difference being that the ceiling is out-of-bounds.

Instructors will be on staff at the club to teach newcomers how to play each sport.

“We’ll host regional and hopefully a couple of national tournaments,” said Baron, who noted they’re already aiming to host the Minnesota Squash Association State Tournament next spring. “We’ll probably bring some pros in to do some teaching events and compete. Hopefully we can have multisport events too where you have a tournament and play all three sports. We’re looking forward to that.”

The club can support up to 300 members. Monthly memberships range from $95-$185. Locker and laundry service are an additional $25 per month per locker. For more information, call 651-760-0305 or visit heightsracquetmn.com.

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