DES MOINES, Iowa — Pickleball fanatics will soon have a new place to play in Des Moines at Merle Hay Mall.

Where the old Kohl’s department store was will now be the new home to a 73,000 sq. ft. pickleball park — Dinks Pickleball. Mall leaders said this will be the new hotspot for the fast-growing sport.

“I am all in,” Liz Holland, Merle Hay Mall CEO, said. “I played tennis growing up and pickleball is the perfect sport for me now. And I would say it’s the fastest growing sport in the country. And, from my experience, it’s because I can get out there with my two 14-year-olds and me and my mother, we can all play at the same level and have a great time.”

Once work is finished on the first 30,000 sq. ft. area there will be 13 courts, making it the largest aggregation of indoor pickleball courts in the metro area. Holland said if these first 13 courts are successful they hope to add more.

Mall leaders said they hope to have the pickleball courts open by Christmas.