Tag Archives: pickleball

SPORTIME Clubs and Hornig Capital Partners Partner to Develop Pickleball Facilitiesthroughout the Northeast

SPORTIME Clubs and Hornig Capital Partners announced today that they have signed a partnership agreement to establish a new company, SPORTIME Pickleball, LLC, that will develop and operate state-of-the-art, standalone, pickleball facilities in the tri-state area under the SPORTIME brand. The joint venture is a collaboration of SPORTIME Clubs, the largest and most sophisticated 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 with a track record of success in developing value added properties.

SPORTIME Pickleball is currently 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 currently negotiating 8 lease transactions on Long Island and in Westchester, Connecticut, New Jersey and NYC, with the goal of having more than a dozen dedicated pickleball centers in operation by the end of 2027. Claude Okin, President & CEO of Sportime Clubs, explains, “for SPORTIME, this is a natural expansion of our business and allows us to utilize existing talent and expertise across racket sports lines. 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 dominant market share in the geographies where we do business and nearby.”

SPORTIME Pickleball will operate dedicated indoor and outdoor pickleball sites throughout the Northeast, and expects to become the dominant pickleball club operator in the area and beyond, leveraging SPORTIME’s existing infrastructure, which already includes 70 pickleball courts, management and programming expertise and player database of more than 30,000 active members/players. SPORTIME recently opened the largest indoor pickleball facility in New York State at their Port Washington facility, consisting of 12 dedicated courts. Each SPORTIME Pickleball location will feature 10-20 state-of-the-art pickleball courts that will be 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, which will be 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.”

For more information, email [email protected].

SPORTIME Randall’s Island Announces Indoor Pickleball Expansion

SPORTIME Randall’s Island, New York City’s premiere tennis facility, to add 12 indoor pickleball courts this fall. Court-time rentals, instructional clinics, social and competitive open play sessions, events and more will all be on the menu for the hundreds of thousands of City residents who have become part of the pickleball craze!

SPORTIME Randall’s Island is in the final stages of a facility expansion, which includes the addition of 10 new tennis courts, making the 30-court facility one of the largest in the world. In an effort to respond to the unprecedented growth of pickleball, and to welcome NYC pickleball players, SPORTIME will retrofit five of its bubbled, hard-surface, tennis courts, so that those courts can also provide 12 hybrid pickleball courts, which will be available for pickleball players to enjoy seven days a week.

“Pickleball is a natural expansion of our racket sports business in NYC and at our clubs across New York State, and we are thrilled to be bringing the first large-scale, indoor, pickleball facility to NYC,” explains SPORTIME CEO & President, Claude Okin. “Our goal is to welcome thousands of NYC’s most committed picklers during the indoor season, so that they can keep playing all year and experience the best-in-class facilities, programs and amenities that SPORTIME has to offer!” Added Okin, “With the unveiling of our $45 million expansion project at Randall’s Island this fall, and the addition of pickleball, SPORTIME hopes to be the go-to destination for racket sports players of all ages and abilities to learn and enjoy our lifetime sports.”

Pickleball players of all levels will have the opportunity to improve their games, to join social and competitive, level-based group play, to rent courts seasonally or by the hour, and to enjoy a host of special events and tournaments throughout the year. SPORTIME tennis and pickleball members enjoy great benefits, including 7-day advanced court-time reservations, member pricing on lessons and events and access to SPORTIME Pickleball programming.

Joining the SPORTIME Randall’s Island leadership team is Pickleball Director Lisa Scotti. A New York native, Lisa has excelled at a variety of sports, including pickleball, paddleball, tennis, softball and paddle tennis. Lisa is a member of the Paddleball Hall of Fame, but, a few years ago she shifted her focus to playing and teaching pickleball exclusively, and she has achieved great success in prestigious tournaments across the Tri-State area and nationwide. As a Professional Pickleball Registry certified pickleball coach, Lisa enjoys introducing newcomers to the game and helping players of all ages and levels improve and compete. Lisa is a devoted ambassador for the sport, and Sportime is excited to have her at the helm of pickleball at its flagship facility in NYC!

SPORTIME Randall’s Island is located at 1 Randall’s Island, NY. For more information, visit www.SportimeNY.com/Manhattan or to communicate with a member of our Pickleball team, email [email protected].

Its Pickleball Mania World Championship To LIVE Stream Thursday In Only Live On-Air US/Global Professional Sporting Event

As professional and amateur sports organizations continue to do their part in maintaining best practices to combat the spread of the COVID-19 virus, postponing competitions and events worldwide, there is a void of original live sports programming on TV. Enter the Its Pickleball Mania World Pickleball Championship, set for Thursday at noon ET, streaming exclusively on ESPN3 as the only live TV sporting event currently available to viewers.

Four of the world’s top professional pickleball players will vie for the first Pickleball Mania crown. They will battle it out in semifinals and finals action at a private residence under strict quarantine guidelines. The four competitors will be joined by a small production and event crew of no more than six people as the event complies fully with present restrictions and social distancing practices.

Fans can tune in for all three matches live on ESPN3 via their streaming players, computers and mobile devices. The final match will also be presented on tape delay on a variety of national and international networks at a later date.

The Its Pickleball Mania World Pickleball Championship was co-founded by former tennis professional Ryan Sherry, NFL veteran Brandon Siler and former professional football player Peter “P.J.” Jensen. They will also serve as Tournament Directors. Harry Cicma serves as the event’s executive TV producer through Harry Cicma Productions LLC, in partnership with ESPN.

“This is a very special event, as one of the only professional sports being televised live worldwide during this difficult pandemic,” said Cicma. “The most important thing is that the event and broadcast are intimate, in a private secluded residence, and promoting staying at home in quarantine and social distancing. It’s been a difficult few weeks for the community and we are grateful to finally bring live professional world championship excitement to the sports world in a safe way as we all try to beat COVID-19.”

“Pickleball is sweeping the world by storm and is currently the fastest growing sport in the world,” said Jensen. “I promise you this, if you ever pick up a pickleball paddle and play a game of singles or doubles you will be hooked! Pickleball is a combination of tennis, ping pong and requires speed, power, finesse and strategy. If you think for a second this is an old people’s game, you will be sadly mistaken and proven wrong! Tune in and watch live for yourself!”

“With everything that is going on in the world right now, we’re glad to be able to bring entertainment with safe health practices and the showcase of a little known sport to the world,” said Sherry. “Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America for a reason. It’s easy to learn, easy to improve, any age can play, it’s social, and incredibly fun and addictive. Pickleball combines sport and racquet backgrounds in a way no other sport does. Anyone with a sports background can find parallels between their background and pickleball.”

“Pickleball appeals to the old, the young, celebrities, former professionals in others sports. It has something for everyone,” said Siler. “And we’re just happy to be able to showcase this to the world at a time when people are yearning for something to root for.”

Pickleball is a paddle sport that combines many elements of tennis, badminton and ping-pong. The fast-growing, fast-paced game is played with a paddle and plastic ball with holes, as doubles or singles, on a badminton-sized court and a slightly modified tennis net.