Local entrepreneur and developer Ron Deleeuw is still hoping to bring his plan for a 45,000 square-foot inflatable, pickleball dome to Monclova, despite the Sept. 30 vote to deny the project.
The Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) denied a variance in a 4-0 vote needed to greenlight the project called The Paddle Dome, in a vote that took 20 minutes behind closed doors. The township’s architectural standards state that the exterior of a structure needs to be made up of 60 percent of materials such as brick, wood, natural or faux stone, stucco, block, siding, and glass. Deleeuw’s proposed sports dome is inflatable and is made of vinyl. Deleeuw wanted the dome structure because it costs half the price of a steel building, keeping the cost low for patrons that would use it.
“It’s a great project. We’re not here for the project, but the request for the variance,” BZA member Jeffrey Bellmer said.
The proposed Paddle Dome site is located on 8.5 acres on the northeast corner of Jerome and Monclova roads in Monclova Township and would house space for pickleball courts(indoor and outdoor), for phase one and subsequent phases for soccer, volleyball, and more.
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The Ohio Revised Code states five criteria that need to be met in order to grant a variance, including whether a property has an irregularity in the size, shape, or topography that would make development impossible without the variance.
The Paddle Dome would be manufactured by Broadwell Global, a company that designs and installs air-supported structures. The company claims to be the only major air dome company in the world with no catastrophic failures– 100 % safety record. They say it’s due to their use of high-quality materials and their patented cable harness system.
According to the 2023 Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) report, pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in America, having grown 51.8 percent from 2022 to 2023 and 223.5% in four years since 2020. According to the Association of Pickleball Players, more than 70% of
avid pickleball players are between the ages of 18 and 44; 40% are between the ages of 25 and 34, while 18% are between 18 and 24.
After the vote in late September, Deleeuw shared his thoughts via email with The Mirror Newspaper in Maumee: “It was a great community discussion! Everyone was behind the vision and the positive impact to the community. The loudest voices were more concerned about job creation, thus tax revenue, and material usage outside recommended façades rather than the benefit to the AW residents,” he wrote. “This wasn’t just a loss for us, it was a loss for the AW community. We will adjust our strategy to comply within the guidelines to get a pickleball recreational destination built. We will still have 4 acres left to develop, and look forward to conversations of what is
possible.”
Deleeuw could not be reached for further comment.
