PORTLAND, Ore. — Portland will be getting a new gaming-arcade amusement center this summer in Northeast Portland.
The signs on the outside may still say Lumber Yard, but the owners of the building at 2700 Northeast 82nd Avenue in Portland are busy on the inside transforming it to The People's Courts.
"I guess the centerpiece is the pickleball courts," said Co-Founder Dave Schrott.
Schrott along with his cousin Dave Sacks are turning the 48,000-square-foot building into a place to hang out with friends and family to play a few games.
The gaming center is not too far from a local high school and a nearby skate park, perfect for foot traffic.
"It really is a place where we want people from everywhere, on all demographics, to come and enjoy themselves," said Sacks.
Gamers will be able to select from a handful of pickleball courts, bocci ball, ping pong and cornhole. The People's Courts will also offer smaller pickleball courts for single-player and practicing — what's known as a dinkum shot or a drop shot.
"We've relied on a lot of outside people to help us develop all these games and make sure we're doing it right," Schrott said.
Currently, construction crews are putting the final touches on the courts. It will eventually finish construction of the two restaurants that will be managed by the owners of Olympia Provisions and Apizza Scholls.
The site will also feature two bars and an arcade through a partnership with Quarter World.
"We will not have entry fees to enter the space, so everything will be predicated on what you want to play and how long you want to play. And we're kind of working the details out on the pricing itself," said Schrott. "It will be affordable."
The People's Courts will also feature six outdoor pickleball courts that will take over the west end parking lot.
The cousins, along with Sacks' dad, purchased the property in 2009. Soon after the previous tenants, The Lumberyard, moved out, work began on transforming the property.
"We knew this physical place lent itself to it and we knew how fun pickleball is and social pickleball is," Sacks said.
The People's Court is scheduled to open Friday, Aug. 25.