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Saturday, July 25, 2009

Ping Pong in the City-Susan Sarandon's New SPiN NYC

It seems Susan Sarandon is a big ping pong (er...table tennis) fan, as she's behind the opening of a new establishment catering solely to that sport--Spin NYC. Located on 23rd between Park & Madison, Spin NYC has membership dues --$500-750--for those die-hard fans of the sport, but they also do allow in non-members (see fees below). You do need to reserve tables--212.982.8802-- (they offer a 9,000 sq ft Main Room with 15 state-of-the-art JOOLA Tables).
A peek at the website indicates this is really more of a sports/gym-atmosphere, as opposed to an East Village- billiards atmosphere, so this doesn't seem like a terribly fun (as in let-loose fun) place at first glance. It looks a bit serious and intimidating, actually. Probably that is because my ping pong skills were developed in a shack in the Adirondacks when I was 8, and haven't gone much further since.
Definitely it seems they take their table tennis seriously. The game room itself looks austere, and geared towards the serious amateur -to-pro.
From their website:
"SPiN New York is a 13,000 square foot table tennis social club on Park Avenue in Manhattan’s Flatiron District. The club offers unparalleled table tennis courts with Olympic quality cushioned flooring and 17 individual tables, including a stadium-like center court. In addition, SPIN
New York houses a pro shop, lounge, bar, private room sponsored by Fred Perry and over a dozen internationally known professional coaches and players who are available for private and group instruction.

Info
Reserve tables
212.982.8802-
Hours of Operation
– 7 days per week
Mon-Fri…………………5pm-Midnight
Sat – Sun……………….Noon-Midnight
Table Rental Rates
$15 per half-hour for standard tables
$25 per half-hour for pro courts
$50 per half-hour for stadium court