Sportime Clubs and Hornig Capital Partners signed a partnership agreement to establish a new company, Sportime Pickleball, LLC, to develop and operate standalone pickleball facilities in the tri-state area under the Sportime brand.
The joint venture is a collaboration of Sportime Clubs, the largest operator of racket sports facilities and programs in the Northeast, including the John McEnroe Tennis Academy and Hornig Capital Partners, a NY-based real estate development company.
Sportime Pickleball is preparing to offer a limited $14 million tranche of founding partner equity to qualified investors and has executed a long-term lease for a site under development in Armonk, NY, scheduled to open in 2024.
Sportime Pickleball is negotiating eight lease transactions on Long Island and in Westchester, Connecticut, New Jersey, and NYC, to have more than a dozen dedicated pickleball centers in operation by the end of 2027.
“For Sportime, this is a natural expansion of our business and allows us to utilize existing talent and expertise across racket sports lines,” explained Claude Okin, president and CEO of Sportime Clubs. “There are inexperienced pickleball start-ups everywhere at the moment, but we plan to leverage our 35-year advantage to offer the best pickleball facilities and programs and to acquire a dominant market share in the geographies where we do business and nearby.”
Sportime Pickleball will operate dedicated indoor and outdoor pickleball sites in the Northeast and said it expects to become the dominant pickleball club operator in the area and beyond, leveraging its infrastructure, which includes 70 pickleball courts, management and programming and a player database of “more than 30,000 active members/players.”
Sportime recently opened the largest indoor pickleball facility in New York state at its Port Washington facility, consisting of 12 dedicated courts.
Each Sportime Pickleball location will feature 10-to-20 pickleball courts available for social and competitive open play sessions, court time rentals, tournaments, clinics, instruction, and private events. Some locations will feature restaurant and event spaces operated by food and beverage partners.
“We are continuing to see terrific growth in all racket sports, but especially in the unprecedented boom of pickleball. In response, Sportime is committed to bringing world-class pickleball facilities to our markets and beyond,” explained Okin. “Our goal in pickleball, as in tennis, is to develop lifelong and committed players who choose Sportime Pickleball locations to enjoy best-in-class facilities, instructional programs, customer care and amenities. We plan to grow our pickleball capacity as quickly as possible, and we are launching this new undertaking with the team at Hornig Capital Partners, who are experts in real estate development and planning.”
Daren Hornig, Managing Partner of Hornig Capital Partners, shared, “I am thrilled to be partnering with Sportime to help to build a business around a sport that I love, in markets that I know very well. My role is to source the best locations and to negotiate the best possible leases or acquisitions for our growing network of dedicated pickleball clubs.”
Hornig added, “It is very exciting to be participating in this joint venture with Sportime Clubs, as they represent the gold standard of excellence in racket sports facilities and programs in the Northeast. The pickleball boom is bringing more people to the court every day, and Sportime Pickleball will be providing high-quality facilities and programs for our communities to embrace and enjoy.”
Renderings courtesy Sportime Pickleball, LLC
