Pickleball Club Operator Signs Contract on Palm Beach County Property
By Jeff Ostrowski October 25, 2023 4:53 pm
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In a deal that would create Palm Beach County’s first indoor pickleball facility, a Sarasota company has signed a contract on a site in Greenacres, Fla.
The Pickleball Club of Sarasota intends to buy a vacant 4.9-acre site at 5234 South Haverhill Road. The property is owned by Palm Beach Christian Preparatory School, which bought the land in 2020 for $1.4 million, according to property records.
Brian McCarthy, CEO of The Pickleball Club, said he put the property under contract after city officials emailed him to gauge his interest. His company has been developing pickleball clubs throughout Florida, but a scarcity of sites meant the company had yet to secure a location in South Florida.
“It’s a challenge to find land available in the three-, four-, five-acre range,” McCarthy told Commercial Observer.
One advantage: Enthusiasts are willing to go out of their way to find courts, so The Pickleball Club doesn’t need high-traffic locations,.
“We don’t need to have high visibility, because we’re a destination,” McCarthy said.
Initial plans in Greenacres call for a 41,140-square-foot facility with 16 indoor pickleball courts and three outdoor courts, plus 184 parking spaces. The club also would include a 3,850-square-foot lounge. The club could open in 2025.
McCarthy said his business model was inspired by a combination of the rising popularity of pickleball and players’ desire to get out of Florida’s intense heat. Club members pay a $1,000 initiation fee plus a monthly charge of $125.
The Pickleball Club’s first location, in the Sarasota suburb of Lakewood Ranch, is open. A location in Port St. Lucie is nearing completion. A typical club costs $15 million to develop and build, McCarthy said, a sum financed through a combination of construction financing and capital raised from investors.
The company is also developing clubs in Bonita Springs, Fort Myers, The Villages, Pinellas Park and Venice.
Jeff Ostrowski can be reached at jostrowski@commercialobserver.com.
