February 25, 2025 (Nanoose Bay, BC) – A new, mid-island, indoor pickleball facility is set to open its doors to the Vancouver Island community this Summer. Announced through social media this week, the five court facility, operated by Halifax-based business CrossCourt, will be located at Arbutus Meadows Farm in Nanoose Bay.
Nanoose’s facility will be CrossCourt’s third location, with the other two serving Nova Scotia’s Dartmouth and Bedford pickleball communities. The new facility will feature five fenced courts, with Acrytech Sports Coating used for the court surface.
“[The building has a] wide open space, great big high ceilings,” said CrossCourt co-owner, Steve Skinner. “You don’t you don’t get that everywhere. So when you find it, you have to try to do something with it.”
CrossCourt plans to bring their league, drop in, rental and lesson setup used in the Nova Scotia locations to their latest venture in Nanoose, which includes multiple options for skills levels, and group sizes.
Development for the new facility began in 2023.
“Someone came to see me maybe a year and a half ago,” added Skinner. “They said, ‘I’m thinking about opening up my own pickleball facility…can I come and pick your brain?’ She ended up saying, ‘I really love what you’re doing. Can we work together? And can you possibly come out and, do something on on my side of the country?’”
Together, they worked with local real estate agents to find a location, eventually settling on the Arbutus Farm location in Nanoose.
“Locations are the hardest thing to to do when you’re trying to open a pickleball facility,” noted Skinner. “It’s actually probably the biggest barrier to entry and the biggest reason why all communities don’t have pickleball courts, because it’s just really hard to find the right space.”
From a personal perspective, Skinner values pickleball’s inclusivity and the opportunity to pick up a paddle and compete without the limitations imposed with several other recreational sports.
“I played a bunch of other sports and had hurt myself and couldn’t be as competitive in those anymore as I would have liked to be,” said Skinner. “What I find with pickleball is that people—regardless of their sports background or age or anything like that—can pick up a paddle and be as competitive as they as they wanna be pretty pretty quickly.”
Skinner is also looking forward to the upcoming CrossCourt ‘business trips’ to Vancouver Island that will be required when the facility opens later this year.
“Obviously, I live in Halifax, but now I get to come to BC multiple times a year, and, you know, there’s way worse places to have to go and visit.”
You can join CrossCourt’s new Facebook Group HERE and visit the CrossCourt website, HERE.