We’ve spent the past year immersed in the business of starting up pickleball clubs. We’ve connected with over 150 entrepreneurs and groups exploring launches. We’ve brainstormed dozen of unique concepts, and researched every angle: financial projections, business plans, facility design, pricing models, staffing needs, supplier selection, revenue diversification….and more. It’s a good time to take stock, summarize key trends, and make a few predictions. All the media outlets do it, so why not us?

1) This ain’t slowing down anytime soon, thousands of pickleball clubs will open, 2024 is just the start.

I have fitness business startup experience dating back to 2004 and I’ve never seen an explosion of this magnitude. I’m sticking by an earlier post where I said there will be thousands (not hundreds) of clubs opening.?It is the only fitness/sports niche with a strong appeal to so many demographics. (Note: if this sounds crazy consider there are 10,000+ tennis clubs in America, are more of your friends playing pickle or tennis?)

2) Pickleball clubs will stratify and a variety of models will evolve.

Entrepreneurs are cooking up a variety of models. We’ve engaged with folks about 2-court ‘swipe entry’ non-employee facilities, and 50 court centers with championship seating, elaborate restaurants, complementary sports offerings and health and fitness add-ins. The most common plan seems to be 8-12 courts with a primary pickleball emphasis, but there’s a lot more going on.

It’s already happening, and the trend will continue.?From the large scale “Eater-tainment” complexes to 40-court tournament-driven facilities to scaled down 5-court clubs in the local strip mall…..and everything in between. We’re seeing clubs loading up on luxury amenities, and at the same time ‘players clubs’ stripped down to the essentials for hard core play. Some want food & beverage up front, others want it scaled way back. We believe all these models can survive, but there is a huge onus on execution as the market grows and competitors blossom.

3) Pickleball as a lifestyle

Think golf. Pickleball is another sport emerging as a lifestyle centerpiece. Vacations, 2nd homes, big event celebrations, resorts and Air BnB rentals are all marketing their connections to pickleball. In an earlier post, I discussed the “phases of pickleball”. It starts with confusion, moves to obsession and finishes at Lifestyle. That post was tongue in cheek, but there is real truth, and real business opportunity in this phenomena.

4) Programming advances build loyal membership

Pickleball clubs will continue to have to compete with ‘free’. In order to attract loyal, paying members they will need to leverage their primary advantage:?court time that can be optimized to create compelling programming options. Yes, court-rental will be important, but successful clubs will need to drive revenue from a variety of activities beyond renting courts. There are a ton of fun and interesting ways to organize play, and more are emerging all the time. We have dozens in a growing database.

5) Municipalities and other groups will be jumping in

Yes private clubs will open in droves, but towns, YMCA’s, homeowners associations, health clubs and other organizations are responding to demand. Lifetime Fitness has made pickleball a major priority, and the ‘Y’ has a nationwide initiative to explore new courts. New residential complexes are using courts as an attraction for tenants. While these are competition for new clubs, they also broaden the market by introducing new players. Private clubs will have the advantage of creating programming, amenities and other experiences that many organizations simply can’t or won’t.

6) Kids (ages 5-20) are getting into the game

It wasn’t long ago it was rare to see an ‘under-50’ player at the open play. Not any more. Best female in the world is 16, fastest growing age group is 18-34, public high schools are introducing it as a sanctioned sport, and college club teams have blossomed. Us old guys need to continue to develop our wisdom and guile—–because we ain’t gonna win on athleticism. All this is awesome of course for grooming future players, but you will also see summer camps, after-school programs and other opportunities cropping up for the owners of quality pickleball facilities.

7) Synergistic businesses will be woven into new pickleball clubs

Restaurant and bar operations are the most obvious example of this trend, but pickleball clubs are good places for complementary ‘game’ activities as well as fitness, health, and retail services. Personally, I’d love to see my pickleball club feature massages and stretching or yoga classes designed to extend my playing hours (and years)!

8) Technology will advance the game and its appeal

Online booking and reservation systems continue to add features making club management more efficient. It’s all about court optimization! There are several startups in this space doing innovative things. We’ve brainstormed with entrepreneurs about video technology to record cool points and even to rate players objectively so play can be leveled. There are tools for the efficient administration of tournaments, player rating, and more. These technologies will rapidly evolve this coming year as the market grows.

9) One word…..Padel

Padel Tennis (pronounced “Paddle” or “Pah-DEL”) started in Mexico and is now played in 90 countries. If you haven’t seen it, check YouTube for “best points” it’s crazy. It is especially popular in Spain (over 20,000 courts) and is growing across Scandinavia, the Middle East and Africa.?The court is encloses (like platform tennis) and the footprint is similar to pickleball. Several of our clients have discussed whether to commit space to it.?It looks amazingly fun, and is definitely growing, but a) it’s a bit early here in the US and b) the appeal is not to as many age categories as pickleball. All that said, keep a close eye on Padel, it will give a new generation of racket-sports addicts, something really cool to try!

Happy New Year! Pickle on!

Pickleball Business Advisors is brothers Bill and John Pryor.  We provide a variety of consulting services based on extensive experience in fitness business development, and research into the fast growing pickleball marketplace.  To initiate a feasibility assessment for your pickleball club, or for other consulting, contact us so we can learn about your project.