Several times during a Franklin Common Council meeting in January Mayor Steve Olson mentioned to those in attendance ‘This is a big deal.’ And you couldn’t blame him.

Olson was referring to one significant announcement after another made Tuesday.

Saputo Cheese coming to Franklin.

New housing units on the SW side.

Upcoming $4 million payment to the city resulting from the big success at Velo Village Luxury Apartments.

A 40-plus room boutique hotel at Ballpark Commons.

Also at Ballpark Commons, a brewpub, live entertainment, and pickleball, yes, pickleball which has become quite popular in Franklin.

A Pickleball court is a quarter of a regulation tennis court with two teams of two players. Franklin Recreation repainted a tennis court to establish Pickleball play at Franklin’s Lion’s Legend Park II on Drexel Road Photo: C.T. KRUGER/NOW MEDIA GROUP, June 2018

The goal is to have a total of eight courts, indoor as well as outdoor at Ballpark Commons with groundbreaking possibly happening this summer.

And the pickleball craze is not exclusive to Franklin. It’s the fastest growing sport in America.

You say you don’t know a thing about pickleball? America’s fastest-growing sport is a cross of tennis, pingpong and badminton.

The national media couldn’t get enough of pickleball. Last summer…

The print edition of the July 25, 2022, issue of New Yorker magazine contained a more than 6,500 word feature on the allure of pickle ball. The author buried the idea that the game could save America (yes, a bit much, but an interesting take).

Bah, pickleball. It’s only for old fogeys. Guess again.

With all this pickleball love popping up everywhere you just know what was going to happen. The naysayers were coming out of the woodwork. The rapidly-growing racket sport seems to be gaining haters almost as fast as players.

But we’ve got pickleball in Franklin and we love it.

And finally, to review, the upcoming “Rock N Pickle” in Franklin’s Ballpark Commons discussed during that January common council meeting will have five outdoor courts and five indoor courts – paired with a small concert venue, large bar and a new restaurant concept. “Rock N Pickle” is scheduled to open sometime in the fall of 2023.

THE TOP 10 FRANKLIN STORIES OF 2022

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9) FRANKLIN IS SAVING AMERICA WITH THE HELP OF…
10) THE STATE OF THE CITY