America’s fastest-growing sport is drawing significant backing from family offices, which are investing in both the recreational and professional markets for pickleball.
“You look at the total addressable market, and it’s tremendous," Ron Saslow, founder and managing partner of his family office, Thirty-5 Capital, told Crain Currency. "I don’t know if there’s ever been a sport like that, certainly not in my lifetime.
"Pickleball seemingly is equally played by men and women, older and younger, wealthier people as well as underserved communities, people who are extremely skilled in sports and people who have never played sports.”
Thirty-5 Capital is heavily invested in the sport and owns the Chicago Slice of Major League Pickleball (MLP) as well as paddle brands ProXR, Paddletek and Boundless Pickleball. It is also invested in a pickleball clothing line coming from Muev and a ProXR pickleball shoe expected to launch in November with Sqairz, which makes golf and baseball footwear.
“We do believe 100% that we’re already there, that the recreational side will continue to be great and be very profitable for investors to be involved in sporting goods — your paddles, balls, shoes, clothing, glasses," Saslow said. "It’s a great market, and the international expansion will be tremendous.
“While we’re extremely comfortable on the equipment side making all the bets we’re making, on the pro side, we recognize there’s a little different level of risk involved in it.”
Team values surge to $15 million
The family offices of basketball superstars LeBron James and Kevin Durant are also invested in Major League Pickleball through James’ LRMR Ventures’ stake in the New York Hustlers and Durant’s Boardroom Sports Holdings ownership of the Brooklyn Aces.
This trend extends beyond athletes. Chaifetz Group, the family office of billionaire ComPsych founder Richard Chaifetz, owns MLP’s St. Louis Shock, while the Orlando Squeeze are owned by the billionaire DeVos family, who also own the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association. The DeVos family plans to open a 28,000-square-foot pickleball facility next year in Orlando, demonstrating their commitment to the sport’s growth.
When Major League Pickleball launched in 2021, teams were valued at under $1 million. Now as the league has grown to 24 teams, sources told Crain Currency, MLP clubs are now valued between $10 million and $15 million.
“As we evaluated the broader sports landscape, the ever-growing grassroots engagement and accessibility around pickleball piqued our interest,” said Ryan DeVos, owner and general manager of the Orlando Squeeze. “The compelling MLP format, and the opportunity for men and women to compete on court against each other, really cemented our decision. We felt our family’s acumen, grown over 33 years of professional team ownership, could help us set a strong foundation for the Squeeze to grow into one of the most compelling franchises in the league. And I think we’re seeing that come to fruition.”
Pickleball’s boom extends beyond professional arenas. According to research from the Association of Pickleball Players, nearly 50 million adults, with an average age of 35 years old, played pickleball at least once between 2022 and 2023.
Converting those recreational players into broadcast viewers will be crucial to the growth and long-term viability of professional pickleball. While most MLP matches are currently streamed on YouTube and the Pickle TV channel, exposure is increasing. Last week’s MLP event was held in New York City’s Central Park at Wollman Rink, with other season stops held across 10 U.S. cities.
“More broadly, most sports that have high participation rates tend to have high viewing rates,” said Zubin Mehta, owner of MLP’s Los Angeles Mad Drops. “People conceptually really like to watch people do something that they can’t do in a sport they enjoy. That was what drew us.
“We should get to the point where it eventually becomes consumed from a substantial content perspective, which should drive media rights and long-term increased valuations of the league for the holding company and the teams.”
Mehta owns the Mad Drops through his venture capital firm, Good Alpha Industries, which has also targeted the amateur pickleball market through its investments in the indoor-court franchise operator The Picklr, the player ratings system DUPR and Camp Pickleball, which Mehta describes as a “Topgolf for pickleball” concept that blends dining and pickleball entertainment.
“Despite the grassroots popularity of the sport of pickleball, we’re currently just tapping into a small subset of that fan base with the professional game,” said DeVos. “So in order for us all to be successful, we are placing an emphasis on storytelling around these players and teams and bringing hands-on events to our local markets so fans can touch and feel the product.”
Going global in India, Asia
MLP is the team-format league that merged in February with the PPA Tour, in a deal backed by $75 million in financing from the private equity firm SC Holdings, D.C. Pickleball Team owner Al Tylis, PPA Tour owners Tom Dundon and the Pardoe family, and several existing MLP team owners. Together, the MLP and PPA Tour have now formed the United Pickleball Association and have planned international events next year across India, Australia, Asia, Canada and Europe.
“The goal is to take this growing movement not just here [in the U.S.] but in China and India and other places and make it global,” Mehta said, “so I think we’re sitting in an exciting spot. The next couple years will be more exciting than the last three.”
Beyond being an investment opportunity, the finance industry has latched onto pickleball because of its entertainment value. The private equity firm Blue Owl Capital hosted its inaugural pickleball tournament at Central Park’s CityPickle courts earlier this year, while First Citizens Wealth has invited private investors to a pickleball gathering Oct. 7.
PodPlay Technologies, a venue rental provider for ping pong and pickleball, has seen a “greater than 500% increase year to date in corporate events booked on its platform, primarily driven by pickleball,” said its co-founder, Ben Borton.
“In my old world, health care in the medical and dental space, I certainly felt we were doing great things and helping people out,” said Saslow, whose family owned the dental instrument firm Hu-Friedy before selling it in 2019. “But in those days, anyone who was coming in contact with my products probably was not having a great day. Whereas today, everyone who’s coming in contact with my products is out doing something they love and hopefully having a great day.”
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