Princeton Pong is officially open for business. The facility, owned by West Windsor residents Flint and Kathy Lane, is located in 10,000 square feet of converted warehouse space at 745 Alexander Road. It is exclusively dedicated to the game of ping pong, also known as table tennis.
“This project began with a birthday present,” says Kathy. “I bought Flint a set of ping pong lessons with former Olympic player and West Windsor resident David Zhuang for his birthday a few years ago because he has always liked ping pong. He has really improved and continues to take lessons with David. He has participated in tournaments and has gotten involved with the whole world of ping pong. He met many local people who also love ping pong, and they would play pick-up games in the area — Plainsboro, Monroe, Princeton Seminary — but they were always small areas, part of a larger gym or recreation area. Sometimes they couldn’t play because the space was being used for meetings or other events, which was disappointing.”
“And because of that,” she continues, “Flint decided to open a place for local people to be able to play consistently, in a ping pong-friendly environment. And so Princeton Pong was born!”
The Lanes originally met while both were students at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI). Flint, who was raised by a single mother — a research librarian at Brookhaven National Labs — graduated in 1988 with a degree in computer science. Kathy, the daughter of an assistant attorney general for New York state and a stay-at-home mom, graduated with a degree in electrical engineering.
They were married in 1992, and have three children: Amanda, who just graduated from High School South and who will be attending Lehigh University in the fall; Kacy, who will be a junior at South; and Tyler, who will be a seventh grader at Grover Middle School. “I would say the biggest influence that our parents had on us was that they would say–`you can be anything you want to be if you put your mind to it’– which is what we say to our own kids now,” Kathy says.
The Lanes moved to West Windsor in 1996, when Flint began working at Logic Works, a computer software company that at the time was located in West Windsor. They decided that they really liked this area, so Flint started his own company here called Paytrust, which helped people organize and pay their bills electronically.
“Since 2011, Flint has been running another company that he began, called Billtrust, which helps companies and corporations organize and send out their bills, either electronically or on paper,” says Kathy.
Kathy worked as a vice president for an engineering consulting firm, Syska & Hennessy, in New York City until 1998, when she decided to stay at home full-time.
As well as being interested in ping pong, both Kathy and Flint have been very active in community life. Kathy has been involved in the Parent Teacher and Parent Teacher Student Associations (PTAs and PTSAs) of every school her children have attended: among other things, she is the former president of the PTSA at Grover, a former Vice President at Dutch Neck, the former Executive Vice President at Village, and helped organize the Post Prom event for South last year.
In addition, she is the treasurer of the Princeton Area Junior Women’s Club, an organization that does charitable works for local organizations in need; she is a youth catechist (teacher) at St. David the King Catholic Church, and she is a member of the Friends of the Cherry Tree Club Committee, which is a pre-school for low income and at risk toddlers. She is also involved with Homefront, and she organizes an annual sandwich-making event to benefit the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen, in honor of a close friend who has passed away. And she is a participant in a bowling league in East Windsor.
Flint enjoys playing golf as well as ping pong, and plays softball in the Beth Chaim softball league. He has coached baseball and basketball for the various West Windsor teams his children have played on, and he is a long-time participant in the Mercer County Big Brother/Little Brother program.
Princeton Pong has flooring, lighting and other features specifically designed for ping pong players. The facility is affiliated with the USA Table Tennis Association and can hold tournaments and other events officially sanctioned by the association.
“We really aren’t in direct competition with anyone else that offers ping pong, such as the Windsor Athletic Center (WAC), because our center is devoted exclusively to ping pong, and their ping pong area is a more generic, casual space,” explains Kathy. “I met with Lindsay Adams, executive director of WAC, and we believe our facilities complement each other.”
“I believe there is a real desire for a ping pong facility that crosses all skill levels,” Kathy notes. “Our facility meets that need. We offer space for more experienced players, as well as lessons for players of all levels, young and old.”
Princeton Pong offers different levels of membership to be able to service all interest levels. “Platinum members are able to play whenever they want, and there are separate tables and times for them. Gold members are able to come during any open play time they wish. We also offer reduced membership rates for kids and seniors, as well as a family membership. And if you just want to come in and play during open play, you can do that too, for a small fee of $10,” explains Kathy.
Lessons are offered by Zhuang, who is a three-time Olympic ping pong player, a six-time USA Table tennis champion, and a Pan American-Games gold medalist. Other experienced trainers will offer lessons as well, as needed.
“David is also running our summer camp,” says Kathy. The facility had a “soft opening” on August 1 and is offering open play time. Membership applications are now be accepted. There will be two summer camp sessions, Monday to Friday, August 18 to 22 or 25 to 29. “There will be a morning session, an afternoon session, and an all-day option,” says Kathy. The camp is designed for kids of any skill level, from no experience at all to moderate ability. Parents can register their kids at www.princetonpong.com.
Says Kathy: “We will have an ‘official’ opening early in the fall, and are planning on having a variety of activities. We hope to have ping pong leagues for adults and children, open play times, birthday parties, corporate events, senior citizen programming, as well as lessons.”
Kathy has been assisting the project by working with Byrne Bros, the general contractor, as the “owners’ representative.”
“We were very pleased with our space — the location is great, right across from Carnegie Center and on Alexander Road, and still in West Windsor. And we are very happy to be able to utilize the existing warehouse space, which is perfect for ping pong. It actually took us a while to find the right space, because we needed high ceilings and sufficient parking for tournaments,” says Kathy. “We looked at maybe a dozen spaces before deciding on this one, which had location, general facilities, and, thanks to the landlord Lester M. Entin, Assoc., reasonable rent as well. I also want to give a shout-out to our architects, Perez and Radosti, who are located on Route 571, for really making the facility what it is,” she adds.
“We currently have a general manager for the center, Thom Sikorski, as well as our trainers, David and Joann. We plan to hire college and high school students to help out with our camps, and hope to hire additional staff in the fall, especially local area resident ping pong enthusiasts.
“We are also in discussions with the West Windsor-Plainsboro school district to come up with some joint programming to allow their ping pong clubs to come to our center, and hope to have the Princeton University Club come as well. We really are aiming to serve all segments of our local community,” she adds.
Princeton Pong, 745 Alexander Road, West Windsor. 609-987-8500. www.princetonpong.com.
