Life Time Breaks Ground on First Ground-Up Pickleball Location

As pickleball continues its explosive growth trajectory, Life Time announced the groundbreaking of the Life Time Pickleball Chanhassen, the company’s first ground-up pickleball location in the U.S. Life Time expects to complete the project by early 2024.

The 25,000-square-foot building, adjacent to the Life Time Chanhassen, MN athletic country club, will feature eight indoor and seven outdoor pickleball courts, a viewing area, a lounge, dressing rooms, and other amenities. The company reported looking for additional locations to increase the pickleball-focused concept toward its goal of having 1,000 or more pickleball courts by the end of 2024.

“Life Time has been all-in on pickleball since 2021, and we aren’t slowing down as our members, and new members, continue to demonstrate their growing passion for this sport in Minnesota and beyond,” said Bahram Akradi, Life Time founder, chairman and CEO. “We’re committed to delivering the best experiences and serving our members with unmatched places and programs that help them live healthier, happier lives, and Life Time Pickleball Chanhassen is yet another component of this commitment.”

Life Time operates more than 60 permanent pickleball courts across 12 Minnesota clubs and nearly 600 in the U.S. Over “250,000 people have played pickleball on Life Time’s Minnesota courts this year,” noted the company.

As the nation’s premier pickleball provider, Major League Pickleball (MLP) and the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) work closely with Life Time as a host location for their tournaments featuring the world’s top players. The company adopted DUPR as its rating system for players and launched a tournament series, The Pickleball Classic, along with other events, training, leagues, and play to engage all levels of play.

Since early 2022, Life Time has constructed indoor and outdoor pickleball courts at a rate of five new permanent courts weekly, many with viewing areas, stadium seating, and social lounges. Life Time is the largest owner and operator of pickleball and tennis courts in the U.S.