JANUARY 30 TO FEBRUARY 5, 2025 | JAXDAILYRECORD.COM
BUSINESS & LEGAL NEWS IN BAKER, CLAY, DUVAL, NASSAU AND ST. JOHNS COUNTIES
ENTREPRENEURS SCORING ON PICKLEBALL’S POPULARITY
INSIDE
THE MATHIS REPORT
Behind the $24M sale of the Citigroup campus PAGE 4
ENTERTAINMENT
Decca Live nightspot nears opening after 4 years Photo by Dan Macdonald
PAGE 3
At Jax Pickleball Store in Neptune Beach, co-owner Ty Atkins dinks with a customer on the store’s mini pickleball court.
Indoor facilities allow for players to find games at night or when weather is bad. BY DAN MACDONALD STAFF WRITER
W
hen all nine courts are in play, PickleRage sounds like the crescendo of the world’s largest popcorn popper. Skilled players smack the hollow plastic balls across the net with menacing velocity. Other players prefer to gently dink the ball as if it were a delicate Easter egg. Pickleball, which started on outdoor tennis courts as a less strenuous, more social activity,
has become a big business. National firms and local entrepreneurs alike are looking for empty big box stores to turn into pickleball playhouses. PickleRage, at 10320 Shops Lane in Avenues Walk near Philips Highway, is one of Northeast Florida’s newest indoor pickleball facilities. PickleRage, formed in 2023, is headquartered in Miami Beach. There are six franchises in Alabama, Florida, Maryland, Michigan and North Carolina. It plans SEE PICKLEBALL, PAGE 6
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CITY GOVERNMENT
‘Dreams come true’ for ballpark Photo by Dan Macdonald
PickleRage, an indoor pickleball center, opened Jan. 3 at 10320 Shops Lane in Avenues Walk near Philips Highway,
Jacksonville’s J.P. Small Park, where such baseball greats as Henry Aaron and Satchel Paige once played, is updated for a new generation. PAGE 10 LAW & THE COURTS
THE BASCH REPORT
Redwire Corp. soars on deal to buy drone company Jacksonville-based Redwire Corp.’s stock rockets to new highs on deal to acquire drone maker Edge Autonomy, President Trump’s push for a manned mission to Mars. PAGE 12
Judges in high demand Chief U.S. District Judge for the Middle District of Florida Marcia Morales Howard presents the annual State of the District Report. PAGE 15
VOLUME 112, NO. 12 | TWO SECTIONS | PUBLISHED SINCE 1912