Utah company turning big-big box spaces into pickleball hubs

The recent explosion in pickleball’s popularity belies the game’s surprisingly long history, having sprang to life some 59 years ago when three dads living on Bainbridge Island, a short ferry ride from Seattle, concocted the activity to stave off their kids’ summer boredom.

And while interest in the game simmered on a low burner for decades, it has since erupted into a full-fledged inferno, topping the annual list of fastest growing sports in the U.S. for the past three years.

According to a report this year by the Sports & Fitness Industry Association, the sport experienced 51.8% growth from 2022 to 2023 and an incredible 223.5% surge in players since 2021. In just the last year, 10 million new players have jumped on the court for a game that’s a sort of hybrid between tennis and ping pong, played with a smooth, hard paddle and perforated plastic ball on a court about half the size used for tennis and a slightly lower net.

Pickleball’s horde of new devotees is also driving the need for more playing surfaces and while there were around 50,000 known courts at the end of 2023, according to USA Pickleball, industry watchers say the current inventory is at least 25,000 courts shy of demand.

And that’s where Ogden resident Jorge Barragan comes in.

Long wait led to a great idea

Barragan discovered the game in 2015 and quickly became a big fan and regular player. At the time, he was working in the software industry and finding time to play on weekends, evenings and even lunch breaks at work. Trying to sneak games in during the work day proved to be an increasingly challenging task, he said, as the wait times to get on a court got longer and longer.

“One day during the winter we were trying to get a lunch game in at the Farmington rec center,” Barragan recalled. “We got there and there were like 50 people waiting to get on a court. I thought, I really wouldn’t do this for anything else.”

Seeds sown by the frustration of the crowded courts would blossom into a business idea for Barragan, who is a first generation Mexican-American and the son of immigrants who embraced their own entrepreneurial spirit in opening a tortilla factory, which also formed his introduction to the work world.

Barragan partnered with his longtime friend and fellow pickleball fanatic Austin Wood to launch The Picklr, a business aiming to bring high-quality indoor pickleball facilities to players in Utah and across the country.

The early vision for Picklr was focused on filling the unmet need for courts by either building them from the ground up, like the multi-court facility in Kaysville or refurbishing existing buildings that met the right combination of square footage and layout to efficiently accommodate the 20-foot by 44-foot playing surfaces.

Thinking out of — and into — the box

Barragan and Wood discovered there’s a particular variety of commercial space that typically fits Picklr’s needs and can be found in thousands of communities across the country, thanks to the demise of some major retailers in the last few years — former big-box stores.

“In just about any community you can think of, there are big-box properties that have been sitting empty, sometimes for years,” Barragan said. “Former Bed, Bath and Beyond stores, old Staples, old Sears outlets … they are perfect for pickleball.”

While not all floor plans of vacated retailers hit the mark for reuse as pickleball facilities, many of them do and Barragan said the time and cost reductions for refurbishment versus new construction are significant.

“It’s a big-time savings over building from scratch which can take two years,” Barragan said. “Beside reducing construction time, it’s a lot cheaper, you can just lease the building and save the added big costs of HVAC, plumbing and other necessities. It just makes sense to go after big-box spaces.”

On top of the cost and efficiency advantages, Barragan said local governments are eager to partner with businesses that are interested in making investments in those dead and vacant spaces.

“Every city we’ve worked with are excited to do what they can to help reactivate these properties,” Barragan said. “Picklr renovations bring foot traffic, and new life, back to these old big-box locations.”

Discovering the magic of renovation helped propel Picklr’s growth and Barragan said he and his partner were in the process of developing seven Picklr outlets, mostly in Utah and one in Colorado, when they realized that to really accelerate Picklr’s expansion they might need to revamp their business model.

Turning to a franchising model, it turns out, was Picklr’s best track forward to meet the founders’ goal of building out a national presence.

Scaling the business

“Going the franchise route was the biggest decision we’ve made,” Barragan said. “Opening seven owner-operated locations was a lesson in understanding the challenges to scaling our business. From an operations standpoint, brand standpoint and capital standpoint it just made sense. And thinking about how to replicate myself and Austin and our passion to build this business, be a part of the community and grow pickleball.”

The pivot to a franchise approach didn’t relieve Picklr of its capital needs, however, and the company has been successful in drawing outside funding, some $16 million to date with a friends and family round followed by Series A and Series B efforts.

The backing has helped Picklr bring on a brand specialist and the company has added over 70 staff members to support its growing franchise operations, which, much like the sport itself, has been in turbo mode over the past year-and-a-half with 350 facilities in the pipeline.

For the love of the sport

Indiana resident and pickleballer Aaron Scholl is a veteran of the franchise business space, having worked as chief information officer for a national brand before joining the Picklr network as a regional developer. Scholl and a small group of investors, all Purdue University grads including former NFL superstar Drew Brees, own the Picklr development rights in three Midwestern states — Indiana, Ohio and Michigan.

Scholl said he and his family started playing pickleball during the pandemic and fell in love with the sport. When the hunt for a franchise opportunity began, Scholl said he and his partners were looking at a few opportunities related to pickleball court development but Picklr stood out among its competitors.

“Our interest was fueled by the sport itself and the lack of courts across the country, inside or out, to play on,” Scholl said. “Jorge and Austin got things going early, and actually had the concept before anyone really thought of it with pickleball dedicated facilities. Their updated brand look really sets Picklr apart. They’ve focused on creating a professional feel and professional experience. The sound baffles, lighting structures, Staples Center-like visuals. It’s a different, elevated feel.”

Scholl was also impressed by the network connections Picklr has established with national pickleball groups, relationships he noted set the table for bringing professional events to the facilities. Scholl and his partners expect to have 30 new Picklr locations in process by the end of the month and are scouting dozens of cities within their three-state territory for further expansion. Those plans include a ground-up build in Indianapolis that includes pro-level “show” courts and room for fans to watch top-tier players compete.

He also sees a huge upside potential for pickleball growth through sanctioning at the high school and college levels. Scholl noted that his group’s premier facility in Indianapolis shares the same home as the headquarters of the NCAA, a convergence that could raise awareness of the sport for the nation’s biggest college sports governing body.

“We’ve got 30 million people playing the sport,” Scholl said. “It’s gone far beyond fad status. We’re seeing high school state championship competitions and colleges giving away pickleball scholarships and a longer term goal of getting it into the Olympics. We love that whole junior aspect of the sport and the pipeline to professional play is only going to grow.”

That pipeline idea is baked into Picklr’s approach and embraced in the company’s motto, “Where Pros Are Made.” Those interested in trying out the game at a Picklr facility can get a 30-day pass for $30. Full adult memberships, available for $109 per month, give members unlimited court access at all Picklr facilities, unlimited league and competitive play, access to four pickleball clinics each month and four passes for guests.

During a Zoom interview, Barragan noted his own sunny countenance throughout the conversation about his company and the game that led to it.

“This is what my face looks like when I play,” Barragan said. “There’s always a smile. I love this game for the same reason everyone who plays it does. Because it’s fun.”