The on-court experience at Slate is nothing like you’ve experienced before.
First, as you may have seen from our renders, it will be the most stunning space for an actual court-playing area ever designed. The building materials are quite functional as well. The wood on the back walls is actually a special acoustic material which will absorb reverberation and make the space quieter. Same with the beautiful plant wall arches. No more echo chamber indoor pickleball experiences.
Handsome and sturdy glass dividers will encompass the courts. On the bottom part of the dividers will be a layer of turf. The reason for the turf is, after testing with a variety of techniques and materials in response to the ball bouncing issue (which interferes with group programming), we found that turf significantly reduces the bounce back effect while maintaining the upscale nature of the facility. No curtains, please!
There will also be a lovely long counter on the courts with specially designed drink holders so that a hard ball strike will not induce a mighty spill. Hangers are installed underneath for bags, coats, etc., so you don’t have to place anything on the ground.
Each court will have 5 layers of lighting: hex lights, shop lights, blacklights (the lines will include a special glow-in-the-dark material), perimeter colored lighting, and lasers. Yes, lasers.
You can adjust it all within our in-house developed software/hardware system entitled Pickleball Vision. With all lights turned on, it will be wonderfully bright (but not blinding). Prefer to have a dimmer court? You can turn off the hex lights. Want to have more of a party vibe? Turn on the lasers and activate the animation to the perimeter lights which will react to your play. Neighboring courts won’t be affected.
Now, you may be wondering, how do the lights react to actual gameplay? We are installing two cameras per court which have been trained by an AI to track the ball! The camera software will also be expanded upon so you can take selfies, record video of your playing, and more.
How about sound? Each court will have two layers of speakers. The first layer is a lower-register speaker system that will provide more distant background sound. The second layer is an advanced directional audio speaker system that you can adjust the volume. Turn it all the way down, the music will be distant and easy to ignore. Turn it up, you’ve got yourself a party. Since these are specially-designed speakers, the other courts won’t really hear the difference. It will only be a party on your court!
Don’t like the music that’s playing? No problem. Put in a music request through Pickleball Vision and it’ll be sent through to Jukebox and put in a cue (linked to Spotify). Naughty songs will be filtered out so you won’t get too wild out there!
Thirsty? Through Pickleball Vision you’ll also have the ability to order straight from the bar. The drinks will be served to you by our amazing staff!
How will you know what court you’ll be on? Each one will have a separate screen showing you the court number, as well as the names of those who booked the court!
Each court will have a large on-court tablet that connects you with Pickleball Vision. The interface is user-friendly and even includes video tutorials if you need help or want to learn more about Slate and Pickleball itself!
Wait, what about the actual court playing surface?!
We have the highest possible quality you can get from our friends at Home Court Advantage. Beautifully colored and cushioned, with the square footage exceeding the minimum USA Pickleball recommends, you won’t find a better surface anywhere (ADA-friendly, too!). And yes, we have high ceilings.
At Slate, we are truly elevating every aspect of your pickleball experience. At just $45/month with no annual contract for an adult individual membership, and $16/hour/court, it happens to be one of the best deals on the planet for pickleball as well.
Stage 2 of our opening will occur very soon. Stay tuned to your email for the announcement…
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