FISHERS — A former Marsh supermarket near Fishers' Geist neighborhood could soon have a different type of pickle under its roof.
Fishers City Council voted Monday to rezone the former grocery store on East 116th Street for the 24/7 Dink pickleball arena.
The facility, as the name suggests, would be available for pickleball players 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
"As someone who used to go to that Marsh for a long, long time, the residents in that area and that community has needed something to bring that vibrancy back into it," said Fishers director of economic development Megan Baumgartner. "We're excited about a re-use going into this space that is going to bring that vibrancy and energy that has been lacking for several years."
Pickleball players at nearby Cyntheanne Park say the court space is needed for when the weather gets colder.
"This community has grown to the point where the demand is far greater than the supply," said Dan Hollis of the Indy Pickleball Club. "When we go to tennis venues, we do feel like it's a tennis club and we're playing pickleball. Now, we're going to a pickleball club in which we're treated like the pickleball members we want to be."
Marsh closed down all of its stores in 2017 shortly after it was acquired by private equity group Sun Capital Partners.
The former Marsh location eyed for the pickleball facility previously served as a mass vaccination clinic for the Fishers Health Department during the height of the pandemic. The vaccine clinic left the location in 2022.
If the rezoning is approved, 24/7 Dink plans to open in the former Marsh this fall.
Hollis said he will be among the first to pick up a paddle.
"I was just sitting on the couch before this got me out here burning calories," Hollis said. "The age group is probably from 5 up to 75. I just got my butt kicked by a 75 year old. It's fantastic."
