Thanksgiving for Annie Waterman’s family was more than turkey, mashed potatoes, football and pumpkin pie. There also were heaping portions of Whirlyball.
Annually for a decade-plus, more than 25 of Waterman’s relatives gathered in suburban Chicago and divided into teams of five to play the niche sport, which combines elements of basketball, hockey and lacrosse in bumper cars. (Players drive their own cars as they hold plastic scoops from which they pass and shoot whiffle balls at a target for points.)
When Waterman moved to Minnesota to attend Bethel College in St. Paul, she anticipated trips home to build on the “great memories.” Now as a Maple Grove resident, Waterman doesn’t have to travel hundreds of miles to play; Whirlyball Twin Cities opened in the old Mann Maple Grove 10 Cinema location in late April.
“When I heard it was coming to Maple Grove, I was so excited,” says Waterman, youth pastor at Plymouth Covenant Church.
She was the first person to like Whirlyball Twin Cities’ Facebook page and contacted its owners about playing before it officially opened. She has since brought fellow church workers and children to Whirlyball Twin Cities’ 33,000 square foot playground, which includes laser tag, pool tables, dart boards, private event rooms, a full bar, restaurant-catering, and the main attraction, two Whirlyball courts.
“It’s something that a lot of students haven’t experienced yet,” Waterman says. “There is so much that they already have, so to give them something that is new I think is great.”
A personal testimonial like Waterman’s is what’s necessary for others to try a foreign activity like Whirlyball, says married co-owners Nick Lambrecht and Jessica Boehm. They are speaking from experience. As college students, the couple first played it in Chicago—based on friends’ recommendations.
“I really didn’t believe it when someone told me the description. That doesn’t exist. That sounds a little wacky,” Lambrecht recalls. “When I found it did exist, I was kind of curious. I wasn’t too sure. Then I played it, and it was so much fun. It was just a riot.”
In the first month of Whirlyball Twin Cities, corporate events have led to kids birthday parties and vice versa, Boehm says. Lambrecht says about 75 percent of group outings generate a return visit.
“That has been very, very encouraging,” Lambrecht says. “We’ve had people coming back multiple weeks and multiple days in a row.”
The business appears to be on a roll, but it took years to gain momentum. The lightbulb moment occurred in Chicago in the summer of 2009. Lambrecht, 33, began working on it full time in 2011; Boehm, 31 works on Whirlyball when she’s not a lawyer at Best Buy.
“It was a lot of research, a business plan and trying to convince a bank to lend to a startup during a down economy,” Boehm says of what she called challenge No. 1. “And Challenge No. 2 was trying to find a building that meets the physical requirements of this game. You need 20-foot ceilings, 50 (feet) by 80 (feet) of uninterrupted space, so real estate and financing were two big hurdles.”
The pair of graduates from the University of Chicago, a top U.S. law school, secured funding and a location, and then brought the sport that has had success in Chicago and Orlando here to Maple Grove.
While reservations are often requested and signed waivers are required to play, all can do it, Lambrecht says. Some games have included senior citizens and children, he says.
“Here you are equally competitive in your shirt and tie (and after you’ve had a beer) as someone that is serious about it,” Lambrecht says. “Everyone can play.” Whirlyball offers a full restaurant menu and bar. Don’t miss a chance to enjoy a great night out, if not simply to watch others play the game through the large viewing windows.//
