A vacant car dealership in Toronto is getting a new lease on life as it gears up to be transformed into a trendy sports and social club.
Spring has arrived in Toronto (in theory, at least), bringing with it a renewed excitement to get active among friends for many of the city’s residents, and one community in particular is about to get an especially exciting new hub to hang out and hit the courts.
Last winter, Ontario-based pickleball and padel club, Fairgrounds, burst onto the scene, opening a series of public clubs everywhere from Etobicoke’s Cloverdale Mall to the heart of Yonge and St. Clair, giving folks the city over the chance to get their game on, membership fee-free.
This season is shaping up to be no different, as the pickleball brand prepares to open a brand-new club in their most creative location yet: a former Mercedes-Benz dealership at Bayview and Eglinton.
The new Leaside flagship is setting up shop at 849 Eglinton East as an interim adaptive use of the space before it gets torn down, in true Toronto fashion, for a new condo development.
If you can’t buy a car there anymore, and you can’t live there yet, playing pickleball and padel there seems like a mighty fine way to pass the time, if you ask me!
The new club, a representative from Fairgrounds tells blogTO, will occupy a 40,000 sq. ft. space that houses 13 pickleball courts and 4 padel (a Mexican racquet sport also gaining in popularity of late) courts.
On top of that, this location will boast rotating food and beverage options and a suite of different wellness amenities to round out Fairgrounds’ “private club, public access” ethos.
As for the location, the representative tells blogTO that Leaside is the ideal location to merge players from Midtown and the east end, and the former car dealership proved an ideal landing pad for the project.
“Set in a reimagined Mercedes dealership with soaring glass exteriors and expansive 24-ft. ceilings, Midtown is more than just a place to play—it’s a community hub where sport and social connection collide,” they say.
As with all Fairgrounds locations, the club will be totally free to join, open to players of all ages, and have no dress code to stay accessible to pickleballers from all walks of life. Courts will be available for reservation through Fairgrounds’ website at a flat hourly fee.
Just how long Fairgrounds’ new Leaside location has yet to be determined, contingent on developer timelines, but in the meantime, it’ll sure make a mighty fine addition to the neighbourhood for as long as it sticks around.
Fairgrounds Leaside is expected to open this May.
