Delaware

Newark’s new pickleball facility is coming this summer (maybe). Here’s what to expect

Published

10 months ago

May 21, 2025

Press Room

Newark’s new pickleball facility is coming this summer (maybe). Here’s what to expect

The Picklr, a nationwide pickleball chain, is opening a 50,000-square-foot facility at The Grove in Newark, Delaware, in late August or early September.
The facility will feature 12 championship-sized courts, a pro shop, food and drinks, AI-powered coaching technology, and warm-up/cool-down areas.
Membership options will be available, including a Founder Membership with a lifetime discounted rate, as well as drop-in fees for non-members.

Delaware’s pickleball craze is not slowing down anytime soon.

Pickleball facilities make up some of the largest lot sizes in the state’s shopping centers, with at least three openings coming in this year alone.

The next major pickleball facility is expected to open at The Grove in Newark by the end of the summer, expanding its nationwide reach to Delaware for the first time.

Here are the details.

The Picklr coming to Newark

The Picklr, a nationwide chain of pickleball facilities, plans to open a facility at The Grove at the end of this summer.

It was first reported in summer 2024 that The Picklr would take over half of the former Kmart, with the original targeted opening date in May.

While some construction setbacks delayed the project’s opening, representatives working on the Newark opening confirmed recently that they are looking toward an opening between late August and early September.

The Picklr will take over 50,000 square feet of space in the former Kmart space, connected to the incoming Newark location of Lefty’s Alley and Eats.

What will The Picklr in Newark offer?

According to Joshua Cline with The Picklr, the space will house 12 championship-sized courts. Ball machines are also available for interested players.

The interior of Newark’s Picklr location will be similar to the chain’s other 80-plus locations. Walls are black to help players keep track of balls, and play and sound baffling is installed so the racket of the racquets don’t distract other players.

The Newark location will be equipped with a fully-stocked pro shop open to members and non-members to purchase pickleball gear. Food and drink options also will be available.

A system will be in place for players looking to improve skills. It uses artificial intelligence to track users’ technique. Customers who opt-in can download a mobile app for immediate coaching feedback on drills and matches. Access to the technology will cost between $29 to $39 per month, according to Cline.

Warm up and cool down areas will be provided, featuring injury-prevention tools like foam rollers, mats for stretching and other warm-up equipment.

A community room can be rented for private events.

What will it cost to join The Picklr?

Tiered memberships will be made available. Among the options are unlimited memberships, which include access to any of The Picklr’s locations around the country, free court reservations, unlimited play in competitive and club tournaments, as well as monthly guest passes and clinic passes.

Rates are not finalized for the Newark location’s monthly membership options, according to Cline.

The first members to sign up for a membership will receive a Founder Membership, which locks in a lifetime discounted monthly rate. Sign-ups are available online now to be notified of when Founder Memberships are up for sale.

Drop-in fees for non-members are $30, which allows for a full day of use at the location. Non-members also can play in competitive tournaments or other events for a $30 registration fee.

When will the Picklr be open in Newark?

Expect events and programming when The Picklr opens. Cline said locations usually host three tournaments per month, including competitive events and more casual games and challenges.

The Picklr’s hours will be from 6 a.m. until 11 p.m. every day.

The Picklr is just one of many pickleball facility openings and investments being made in Delaware. Most recently Dill Dinkers opened its doors in Newport in April and Bounce Pickleball opened its eight-court facility in Wilmington at 510 Justison St. on Feb. 1.

What else is coming to The Grove?

The Grove in Newark continues to add more retail options in attempt to become the next premier shopping and recreational destination in the city.

Lefty’s Alley and Eats is taking over the other half of the former Kmart, occupying 41,000 square feet of space that will be filled with 20 bowling lanes, ax throwing, TopGolf simulators, darts, a pub and a stage for live music.

According to Lefty’s website, the Newark location is estimated to open in early 2026, rather than this fall as originally planned.

The 1950s-style diner Nifty Fifty announced it would occupy the former KFC next to the Wawa on site at The Grove. The chain specializes in burgers, sandwiches and milkshakes and boasts over 100 soda flavors.

Administrators for the location’s social media pages have stated that the Newark location is looking to open “this summer.”

The Grove’s Coldstone Creamery, located next to the First Watch and Starbucks, is open.

Molly McVety covers community and environmental issues around Delaware. Contact her at mmcvety@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter @mollymcvety.

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Delaware

Delaware Supreme Court upholds reforms to curb ‘DExit’ concerns

Published

8 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Delaware Supreme Court upholds reforms to curb ‘DExit’ concerns

Karl Baker
| Spotlight Delaware

This story was produced by Spotlight Delaware as part of a partnership with Delaware Online/The News Journal. For more about Spotlight Delaware, visit www.spotlightdelaware.org.

A Delaware law passed last year in the wake of escalating assaults on the state’s corporate brand shielded powerful company leaders from facing certain lawsuits brought by smaller investors.

What it didn’t do was violate the Delaware Constitution, the state Supreme Court ruled on Friday, Feb. 27.

More than three months after hearing arguments, the justices ruled that the corporate law reform – known as Senate Bill 21 – did not strip Delaware’s prominent Court of Chancery of its constitutional authority to decide when a business deal is fair.

“The General Assembly’s enactment of SB 21 falls within the ‘broad and ample sweep’ of its legislative power,” the justices stated.

The ruling ends a bruising fight in Delaware over when the state’s business court should allow small-time investors to interrogate insider deals struck within companies by founders or other business leaders.

The ruling also averts what could have been an embarrassment for the state’s legal and political establishment had the high court overturned the law.

More than a year ago, Tesla CEO Elon Musk — the world’s richest person — was calling on business leaders to move their companies’ legal homes out of Delaware. Musk had launched the campaign, which became known as “DExit,” after a Delaware Chancery Court judge ruled that he could not accept a multibillion-dollar pay package from Tesla.

Just as the campaign appeared to be gaining a foothold, Gov. Matt Meyer, legislative leaders, and Delaware attorneys who represent corporations threw their collective heft behind SB 21.

They argued then that the legislation amounted to a “course correction” that would bring the state’s business courts back into alignment with rulings from a decade ago. Many also said the bill was needed to pacify executives who were considering following Musk’s calls to move their companies’ legal homes out of Delaware.

In response, a cadre of critics — which included national law professors, pension fund attorneys, and a handful of progressives within the Delaware legislature — derided SB 21 as a “billionaires bill.”

Some also argued that the legislation was the latest in a string of recent changes to Delaware corporate law that have shifted the state away from protecting shareholder rights and toward giving greater deference to powerful executives.

Meyer and others SB 21 supporters rejected those characterizations last year. And on Friday, he celebrated the Supreme Court’s ruling.

In a statement, he said the decision affirms that “Delaware is the gold standard locale for global companies to do business.” He also stated that the number of companies that maintain their legal home in Delaware had increased throughout 2025 despite the DExit campaign.

“In short, SB 21 is working, and I’m glad it will continue to be the law,” Meyer said.

The legal arguments for SB 21

When arguing against SB 21 in front of the Supreme Court last fall, one attorney asserted that the new law removed the Chancery Court’s time-honored and constitutional duty to say what is fair – or equitable – in a business dispute.

The attorney, Gregory Varallo, argued that by removing a shareholders’ ability to sue their company, the law reduced what he described as the immutable power of the Court of Chancery to oversee a “complete system of equity.”

During his arguments, Varallo also offered the justices an unusual acknowledgement, stating that he knew that his stance was unpopular — and that he understood “well the pressures on this court.”

The comments were a likely reference to the consensus of big business groups and the state’s political establishment that believed SB 21 was necessary for Delaware to remain the world’s preeminent corporate domicile.

Following Varallo, Washington, D.C.-based attorney Jonathan C. Bond defended SB 21, in part, by characterizing his opponents arguments as unprecedented. If adopted, he said they would imperil several existing Delaware laws that go back decades.

He also argued that changing the rules of corporate law – as SB 21 did – “is the same as wiping out jurisdiction merely because it makes some plaintiff’s claims harder.”

Also arguing in favor of SB 21 during the hearing was William Savitt, an attorney with the Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz – among the most prominent corporate law firms in the country.

Last spring, Meyer hired Savitt’s firm to represent the state in the legal defense of SB 21 for a budget rate of $100,000. By comparison, Wachtell Lipton charged Twitter $90 million in 2022 to ferry that company through its arduous, four-month-long acquisition by Elon Musk.

Wachtell’s client list also includes Mark Zuckerberg and other Meta executives and board members, who last summer settled a seven-year-long, multibillion-dollar shareholder lawsuit in the Delaware Chancery Court.

During his arguments on SB 21, Savitt said equity as determined by judges must follow the statutes created by the legislature, and “not displace the law.”

“No natural reading of the words (of the Delaware Constitution) support plaintiff’s position,” he said.

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Delaware

Police identify victim of Wilmington motorcycle crash

Published

20 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Police identify victim of Wilmington motorcycle crash

State police identified 29-year-old Brian Silva of New Castle as the victim of a fatal motorcycle crash in Wilmington.

Silva was riding a Harley-Davidson northbound on Dupont Highway approaching Millside Drive in Wilmington around 3:30 p.m. on Feb. 27 when it collided with the rear of a stopped Lexus at that intersection, police said. Silva was ejected from the motorcycle. He was taken to the hospital, where he died.

Delaware State Police are still investigating this incident, and anyone with information is encouraged to reach out to them or to Delaware Crime Stoppers.

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Delaware

When will Delaware warm up? After snow, ice Tuesday, temps will rise

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

When will Delaware warm up? After snow, ice Tuesday, temps will rise

Meteorological winter has ended and we’ve entered spring.

However, there’s still a last winter blast hitting Delaware early this week before a spring warm up hits at the end of the week.

Here’s a look at the Delaware forecast.

Will Delaware see more snow?

After a brisk Monday, March 2 with sunny skies and highs only reaching 35 degrees, there’s a chance of snow after 1 a.m. Tuesday, March 3 with freezing rain after 4 a.m. in New Castle County. Snow and freezing rain are expected before noon Tuesday, March 3. The county may receive less than a half inch of accumulation.

In Kent County and Sussex County, there’s a chance of snow and freezing rain after 1 a.m. Tuesday, March 3.

When will it warm up in Delaware?

It will start feeling like spring as warmer air moves into the First State on Tuesday evening, March 3, but wet weather is coming as well.

Rain is predicted from Tuesday, March 3 through Friday, March 5, but spring-like temperatures will make it bearable. In New Castle County temperatures will range from the mid-50s on Wednesday, March 3 to the 60s on Thursday, March 4 and Friday, March 5. Kent County should see temperatures in the 60s and Sussex County will see 70s during the mid- to later part of the week

What’s the weekend forecast?

Remember when you were daydreaming about warm weather during the polar vortex or blizzard? Well, it is coming next weekend.

The forecast is calling for sunny to partly sunny skies throughout Delaware on Saturday, March 7 and Sunday, March 8. Highs will reach the upper 60s in the north to the low 70s in the south.

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