Charlotte’s South End neighborhood chosen as first location for pickleball entertainment complex

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - A large pickleball entertainment complex is coming to Charlotte after Rally Entertainment chose the Queen City for its first location.

As the game of pickleball grows throughout the county, this new entertainment experience will arrive in Charlotte in early 2023 in the Lower South End (LoSo) neighborhood at the corner of Old Pineville Road and Southside Drive.

The complex is named Rally and will span across two buildings on a 1.9-acre site, totaling 27,650 square feet of indoor space and featuring a total of eight pickleball courts (four indoor, four outdoor), two signature cocktail bars, private and semi-private event spaces and tons of lounge and spectator seating.

“What’s so incredible about this game is that literally anyone can step onto a court and have a fun, competitive game their first time out,” said Charity, co-founder of Rally. “But we’re designing Rally to be about so much more than pickleball. We’ve got a top-notch culinary program that will be a draw in and of itself.”

Rally will also feature a full-service restaurant with a menu inspired by global street food and designed by an award-winning hospitality team based out of Washington D.C.

Rally is owned by Barrett Worthington and Megan Charity. Charity is a world-ranked pickleball professional who competes on the pickleball pro circuit and the two founded a tennis and pickleball company. Charity will lead Rally’s pickleball program, designing fun events, social leagues and tournaments for all levels of pickleball players.

Rapid growth and development of LoSo and the South Boulevard corridor are one of the reasons that Charlotte was chosen as the first location for this development. The company plans to bring the concept to urban markets across the Southeast and mid-Atlantic over the next few years.

“Charlotte is such a vibrant city that embraces active living and has a thriving experiential entertainment scene,” said Worthington, co-founder of Rally (and alumni of Davidson College). “We knew it would be the perfect place to launch the Rally brand and can’t wait to open in such a buzzworthy neighborhood as LoSo.”

Rally expects to break ground this spring, with Liles Construction as the general contractor for the project.

More information on this project can be found on Rally’s website.