Indoor Pickleball Comes to Town
Starting this September, the pop of pickleballs will echo through the former Marshalls store at Seminole Square Shopping Center. The 33,000-square-foot space has been renovated and transformed into cvilleSMASH, Charlottesville’s first indoor pickleball and entertainment facility. Behind the new business is a story of reinvention and two friends who envisioned a creative new use for the empty square footage.
Colleen Shearer spent three decades coaching Division I lacrosse, most of that time as an assistant coach at the University of Virginia. Lauren Carbo built her career helping small businesses grow through consulting and project management. Their lives didn’t overlap until their daughters’ high school lacrosse team brought them together.
“We were spending a lot of time on the sidelines, traveling to games, and became close,” Carbo says. “At some point we just started dreaming up business ideas together. Colleen had started playing pickleball. Over a bonfire a couple of years ago, we were talking about how there were so few indoor courts in Charlottesville and asked ourselves if this idea could be possible.”
Shearer, a natural competitor with her background as a coach and three-time All-American lacrosse player at Rowan University, is an avid pickleball player and quickly recognized the sport’s appeal and potential. “I was looking for my next thing after coaching,” she says. “I love building teams and competing. Starting a business, especially one around a sport that brings people together, felt like the right move.”
Their vision took shape during months of research and fact-finding visits to other pickleball venues across the country. They landed on the old Marshalls location as the perfect site, checking a key box: ceiling height. “You’d be surprised how few buildings in Charlottesville have 25-foot ceilings,” Shearer says. “That’s a must for serious play.”
The result of their work is a nine-court facility with plans for a full slate of clinics, leagues, and tournaments. It will also be the home of the 2023 national champion UVA Pickleball Club. “We’ll have memberships, but also pay-to-play options,” Carbo says. “We want to welcome families, UVA students, corporate events—anyone who wants to try something new. Pickleball is accessible for people of all ages. That’s the beauty of it.”
Beyond the courts, the space will include a casual restaurant and bar with flatbreads, wings, and grab-and-go items, a pair of event spaces, shower facilities, and even work pods for remote calls between games. “You can get a workout, shower, grab lunch, take a Zoom call, and get back on the court,” Shearer says. “We’re building something that fits into people’s lives.”
Combining pickleball with a social element has been a key consideration. “Some facilities go all-in on the restaurant,” Carbo says. “We’re in the middle—serious about pickleball but also creating a space where people can also relax and connect.”
They’ve also prioritized partnerships with local businesses through a growing sponsorship program. “We want this to reflect Charlottesville,” Carbo says. “We’re not a chain. We’re rooted here, and we’re building something the community can be a part of.”
Their timing is ideal. Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the U.S., and Charlottesville lacks dedicated indoor courts. Their arrival also dovetails with broader redevelopment efforts at Seminole Square, including a new residential component, a pedestrian bridge over Route 29, and the coming addition of a children’s adventure park next door.
For Shearer and Carbo, cvilleSMASH is also an exciting new direction in their career paths. “A lot of women think they’re supposed to slow down at this stage,” Shearer says. “But why not start something new? Why not build something great?”
Carbo agrees: “We’ve both worked in tough environments. This is going to be fun. We want to build a place where people find connection, confidence, and community. Pickleball just happens to be the perfect way to do it.”