From Silver Screen To Pickleball Dream In Sonoma County

ROHNERT PARK-COTATI, CA — Paddles slam. Balls ricochet. Cheers echo through the cavernous halls of a once-empty movie theater, which is now home to players of one of the country's most popular sports.

Instead of dark, hushed rooms amid celluloid fantasies, the sound of balls against paddles now fills the 80,000-square-foot Centerline 33, the North Bay’s largest indoor-outdoor pickleball club.

Located in Rohnert Park’s Expressway Mall, the pickleball club converted the former Reading Cinemas into 17 indoor and 16 outdoor courts and a 1,500-square-foot gym. A wellness spa and recovery center, as well as a golf simulator, are still being set up.

Centerline 33 celebrated a grand opening on Feb. 28, but members have played since Dec. 1. Richard Coombs, Bill Carson, and Jack Weaver transformed the aging mall anchor over two years of negotiations and construction, the Press Democrat reported. They preserved the theater’s colorful walls and seating but added grab-and-go food, local beer and wine, and hangout areas with viewing decks, the Press Democrat reported.

Memberships start at $75 per month. They include access to open play, wellness services, and special programs.

The repurposed space occupied by Centerline 33 is one of a growing number of those empty malls and retail centers revived, rescued, or replaced by non-shopping attractions.

Just a decade ago, nearly 11,000 malls sat on acres of space across the United States . Today, only 1,200 remain by some estimates, and that number is expected to decrease significantly in the next 10 years.

Instead of retail, Centerline 33's size matches the kind of businesses that need a large space imagined for girth of the Rohnert Park Expressway Mall. But instead of department stores or a Target, pickleball now keeps company with the Rebounderz Indoor Trampoline and Adventure Park. However, the Cheer Obsession Athletics club is now shuttered. In addition, the location provides a sound buffer for outside play that neighbors of parks with pickleball courts lack — leading to testy complaints and lawsuits.

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