A plan to turn the Pipkin Building at the Memphis Fairgrounds into a pickleball facility has stalled out at City Hall, after more than 1,500 petition signatures and a wave of concerned Memphis Roller Derby skaters convinced council members to slow things down. The proposal would hand the building over to Bluff City Athletics LLC, the company behind Bluff City Pickleball, under a lease that could run up to 14 years. For now, the deal is on hold while city officials scramble to figure out where the roller derby league goes next.
A Petition and a Pushback
The group pressing pause on the lease is Fairgrounds for All, which, according to Memphis Flyer, was founded specifically to resist potential privatization of the Pipkin Building. The organization submitted a petition carrying more than 1,500 signatures urging the council to keep the Fairgrounds available to all Memphians. Petitioners were careful to say they are not against pickleball itself — their worry, as described in the Flyer's reporting, is that handing the space to a private business would make it exclusive.
Kristin Kuehner, an organizer with Fairgrounds for All who is also a skater with Memphis Roller Derby, has been at the center of the pushback. She reached out to Memphis in May and to flea market organizers about the possible loss of the roller teams' Pipkin space, per the same Flyer account. Kuehner has argued that the Pipkin is critical to community groups' vitality, calling it a last vestige of community space. Fairgrounds for All says it is now seeking out others affected by the potential lease and preparing for future public comment periods at City Hall.
What Bluff City Pickleball Wants
John and Leslie Daniel, who represent Bluff City Athletics LLC, presented their plans for Bluff City Pickleball to the Memphis City Council, according to the Flyer. The company appeared before the council's parks and environment committee on October 6 before the lease item itself came before the full council the following day. The terms discussed include a seven-year lease with an option to renew for an additional seven years.
The Daniels are not new to the pickleball business. They already operate Bluff City Pickleball out of a 27,000-square-foot former Malco theater in Bartlett, a project detailed by The Commercial Appeal. That facility's ten old movie auditoriums were converted into eight full pickleball courts, a practice court, an exercise studio, a pro shop and a cafe. The Daniels invested more than $500,000 of their own money into that adaptive-reuse project, and the business runs on a membership model offering open and league play, tournaments, lessons and private events. Their company, Bluff City Athletics, was formed in December 2022 and first partnered with Michael Lightman Realty Co. to convert the Bartlett cinema, according to a Bluff City Pickleball press release.
Roller Derby's Uncertain Future
The Pipkin Building currently hosts a mix of specialty events, including flea markets and wrestling matches, on top of its longtime role as home base for Memphis Roller Derby. Council members pressed city officials about what would happen to the league if pickleball moves in, prompting Memphis Parks to put forward an alternative. Justice Bolden, director of Memphis Parks, presented Davis Community Center as a replacement facility, offering the derby league Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. through the end of 2027, with skate school sessions available Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Memphis Parks has provided Memphis Roller Derby a Davis Community Center permit through 2027, and Bolden said the department will keep working with the league on options at both the Memphis Sports and Events Center and Davis Community Center. Council member Jerri Green was not satisfied that the plan was fully worked out, saying the parks department's proposal for the roller derby league was not sufficiently clear. Green called for more conversations with the people who would actually be affected by the move. In response, councilors moved to hold the lease item while officials work to solidify a real alternative for Memphis Roller Derby, according to the Flyer's reporting. The league has deep roots at the Fairgrounds, having marked its 20th anniversary season earlier this year, as The Commercial Appeal reported.
A Sport Booming Nationwide
The fight over the Pipkin Building is playing out against a backdrop of explosive growth in pickleball itself. The Sports & Fitness Industry Association reported that 24.3 million Americans played pickleball in 2025, up from roughly 4.2 million players in 2020. The organization pegs the sport's growth at 171.8 percent between 2022 and 2025 alone, a surge that helps explain why demand for dedicated court space has become a flashpoint even in a city with as much open land as the Memphis Fairgrounds.
For now, the council's decision to hold the lease item leaves both sides in limbo. Fairgrounds for All says it will keep collecting input from residents ahead of whatever comes next at City Hall, while Memphis Roller Derby waits to see whether Davis Community Center becomes a permanent home or just a stopgap. Local organizers, residents and athletes have urged lawmakers to preserve the Fairgrounds as a community space, and the council's pause suggests that message landed, at least for the moment.
