DES MOINES, Iowa — A local mall that was once generally scarce is now seeing a boom in entertainment businesses.
Merle Hay Mall has been working to revitalize by adding new attractions that will hopefully bring more foot traffic inside.
With the addition of a hockey arena, kids areas, the reopening of Flix Brewhouse and now the opening of indoor pickleball courts, the mall has already started to see more people coming inside.
"Well so you know we've been very cognizant of the fact that we need to compete with being able to buy stuff online with your bunny slippers, and really we just wanted to provide different ways for people to utilize our property," Merle Hay Mall CEO Liz Holland said.
Merle Hay Mall has been focused on sports and entertainment since before the pandemic.
Dinks Pickleball, a business scheduled to open in the mall in coming weeks, said they already have members signed up to play pickleball.
"We're hoping to bring in a lot of outside guests as our members to the mall to, not only come here to the food court that we're standing in, but the brand-new kids empire and all the different activities and stores within the mall as well," said David Lanning, the co-owner of Dinks Pickleball.
The pickleball courts will provide people with a place to play this sport during the winter months, something that was a big driving factor for the mall in increasing foot traffic.
"If you become a regional draw again, if you provide something unique to your customers, then they will respond by coming," Holland said.
Holland added that the mall hasn't stopped working on the addition of the Buccaneers hockey arena in hopes of bringing that crucial sports aspect to the mall.