Part pickleball, part country club: Company targets Greenacres site for members-only complex

GREENACRES — Another indoor pickleball complex may be coming to Palm Beach County, this one in Greenacres off South Haverhill Road.

The Sarasota-based Pickleball Club is under contract to buy 4.9 acres that would be the site of a $15 million, air-conditioned building with 12 to 16 courts, locker rooms, a café, an indoor observation deck, an outdoor courtyard and a pro shop.

The purchase is based on obtaining the necessary local permits, but officials in Greenacres are pushing for the project. They reached out to the company to make them aware of the parcel, which Palm Beach Christian Preparatory School had listed for sale.

Pickleball in Palm Beach Gardens: City switches sites for complex, end up with double the courts

City spokesman Austin Lee said Mayor Joel Flores and the City Council instructed administrators to explore the possibility of expanding Greenacres' pickleball offerings, including a privately operated indoor facility. Lee said he came across published reports that The Pickleball Club was looking for a Palm Beach County site.

"We put them (the Pickleball Club) in touch with the owner of the parcel, and in a matter of days an agreement was reached," Lee said. "This was all part of our effort to bring in new development between I-95 and the Turnpike."

The Pickleball Club opened the state's first indoor pickleball facility in May in Lakeland Ranch near Sarasota. It has secured other sites in Port St. Lucie, The Villages, Fort Myers and Bonita Springs.

Pickleball in Jupiter Town is planning for pickleball courts at Abacoa Community Park

Matt Gordon, the company's co-founder and CFO, said it continues to look for other sites throughout the state, especially in South Florida. Assuming the contract closes and the company obtains its permits, the Greenacres courts could be open within two years.

"We have been looking closely for some time for a site in Palm Beach County," said Gordon. "It was a real challenge to find the acreage we need."

Gordon said it was not necessary for the site to be adjacent to Florida's Turnpike or Interstate 95 because of the population density in Palm Beach County. "There is more than a million people within a 30-minute drive. That is what is so appealing about this," he said.

Pickleball Club would come with membership, monthly fees, like a country club

Be prepared to shell out some money if you want to play. You will pay a one-time membership fee that starts at $1,500 and a monthly fee of $125.

Gordon said the fees are reasonable if you are an avid player who plays two to three times a week. "When you break it out, it comes out to as little as $15 a session," Gordon said.

One amenity being offered is the ability for one to videotape their play. He downplayed the obvious attraction of indoor pickleball in South Florida: escaping the heat, the bugs and the rain.

Frank Cerabino on pickleball: Is pickleball the new shuffleboard? Or is it something for everyone?

"We are really weather-agnostic," he noted. "At the Sarasota location, the courts are filled even when the weather is perfect outside. They come for a lifestyle that emphasizes pickleball, but it is a social experience. We operate like a country club."

The membership, Gordon noted, will allow for a high-end, indoor amenity-filled social club focused on pickleball as the primary activity." Gordon expects part of the facility to be rented out at times for corporate events or birthday parties but said there will always be courts available for members to play.

The Pickleball Club may have some competition.

Another 16-court indoor pickleball facility is expected to be built west of Boynton Beach at Boynton Beach Boulevard and Acme Dairy Road. A pickleball operator has yet to be selected. Gordon declined to comment as to whether his company is looking to locate there as well.

In Pompano Beach, a combination indoor pickleball-tennis facility (six tennis courts, six pickleball courts) is expected to open in late 2025 on the shuttered golf course at Palm Aire Country Club.

The tennis and pickleball courts would be housed in an airconditioned concrete building. Neal Feinberg, a spokesman for the project, said top tennis prospects are expected to train at the 50,000-square-foot facility. It will have a clubhouse on two floors. Feinberg said the business model is to "cater to a small, affluent membership."

Broward pickleball-tennis club 'initiation' fees start at $50,000

The initiation fee will range from $50,000 to $250,000. The $250,000 fee will enable a member to 20 years of free court time.

Feinberg anticipates the indoor facility will draw tennis fans from locations throughout South Florida, noting: "Tennis is still very popular in the area despite the growth of pickleball."

Feinberg said there is no indoor tennis club on the east coast of Florida. He called South Florida the tennis capital of the world, adding: "We believe there is real demand and need for such a facility."

As for pickleball, Feinberg said a pickleball-only membership will be offered as well. A $50,000 initial fee would include 260 guaranteed court hours at any time of day over a five-year period. For $250,000, a player would be guaranteed on-demand court availability, with 1,040 prepaid court hours and additional other perks.

Mike Diamond is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government and transportation. You can reach him at mdiamond@pbpost.com. Help support local journalism. Subscribe today

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Private indoor pickleball complex proposed for South Florida site