The sport of pickleball has grown exponentially in recent years and a major U.S. brand has set its sights expanding into Canada in a big way. If fully realized, the plan will result in the leasing and development of several million square feet of facilities.

The Picklr — based in Kaysville, Utah — operates 390 full-service pickleball centres south of the border and recently announced a partnership with Canadian executives to open 65 clubs, with the first location set for 2025 in Toronto.

Winnipeg-based TPC Development Corporation, which stands for The Picklr Canada, was started by Bernie Plett, CEO, and Robert Lloyd, board member. It has signed a master franchise agreement with Picklr.

“We thought the potential market was insanely strong. There is massive demand for facilities,” said Plett during an interview with RENX.

Picklr sees a big opportunity in this country and hopes to take advantage of what is currently lacking.

“There’s a huge shortage when it comes to court supplies, so there’s a supply-and-demand issue. There’s a lot of new players, and there’s not a lot of places to play,"  Chris Walker, the chief development officer (CDO) with The Picklr, told RENX. "Right now, you’re seeing people playing in parking lots. You see them playing in churches. You see them playing in community centres. We’re super excited to bring the premier brand of indoor pickleball to the Canadian market.”

The Picklr and the sport of pickleball

The Picklr locations are full-service and offer courts, coaching, food on site, pro shops and participation in tournaments. 

“The main benefits that we offer is a controlled-temperature environment where you can go and enjoy this game with your friends and family. We are in the community-lifestyle business and we are bringing that lifestyle to the community through pickleball. What we like to say is, ‘When you join Picklr, you’re getting a premium brand,’” Walker said.

So why is pickleball such a popular sport these days?

“One is the opportunity to play. The total addressable market in the game is eight to 86 and so when you’re looking at a pool of players - and there’s really nothing that’s that large: you can’t be playing soccer and hockey and baseball into your 80s but with pickleball you can - and it’s a relatively easy game to pick up. You can pick up a paddle and start playing, and within a couple hours be competitive enough to be having a ton of fun with your family and friends,” Walker said.

It’s growth has been substantial south of the border.

“There are 40 million people playing the sport in the U.S., which means they play it more than twice a week. We are hoping to ensure each of the locations has the feasibility of growing the membership and being able to sell memberships and be a viable, profitable location,” said Daria Lukie, associate industrial, with Colliers International in Winnipeg, who is working with TPC to develop the franchise locations.

TPC's plan to develop 65 facilities

TPC’s plans call for range of development needs, from retrofitting existing buildings to constructing new facilities.

“A lot of it will be what is available,” said Troy Buchanan, vice-president at Colliers International.

When constructing the facilities, there are various specific requirements to be met, he said. 

“There’s going to be parking requirements, height and size requirements. These racquet sports facilities, they are really specific for a number of reasons.”

TPC will be looking for sites that are 20,000 to 60,000 square feet, with minimum column space of 18 feet.

“There’s going to be a mix of opportunities that we are going to consider as long as they have good exposure. The ideal one is using old retail box spaces,” Buchanan said. “Depending on the market, the sweet spot should be around 40,000 (square feet).”

Multiply that by 65 and the sport could result in the leasing or development of about 2.6 million square feet of commercial space over the next few years.

The genesis of TPC

The new company was created from a friendship, according to Walker.

“TPC group has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the entrepreneurial business world. Bernie Plett and I have been good friends for almost a decade. I originally brought this opportunity to him. He then brought in Rob Lloyd, former president of Cisco Systems, to build out their infrastructure in their team. 

“When you’ve got guys like Bernie and Rob and their resumes and just the type of people that they are, it’s a no-brainer to partner with guys like that: they have franchise experience, they have investment banking experience, and they’re just great people.”

Plett has a combined 40 years of experience in investment banking, finance and investment counselling

For TPC, the choice was clear after getting a look at the inner workings at The Picklr.

“It’s an amazing technology stack that the company has, that delivers the customer experience that’s consistent across clubs. It’s the construction and consistency of the courts themselves. One of the things that I think that the community of pickleball players in Canada are finding is a very inconsistent service; they’re playing on converted tennis courts and facilities that are not built to the competitive level,” Lloyd said.

“The Picklr has a proprietary method of doing that, and some patents for the construction of these courts that deliver a high-end experience.”

Because the U.S. market is pretty well saturated, it was natural for The Picklr to look north, Walker noted.

“The difference between the U.S. and Canada is we’re a little bit over-developed in certain areas. Canada is not that way. Between the retail occupancy that we have to play with here, and compared to the Canadian market, it’s going to be a little bit different. We don’t cut corners, we make sure we have an exact column spacing and ceiling height to give you premier premium indoor pickleball, and so we need to make sure that we’re finding those great spaces.”

For his part, Plett is aiming at creating a great new premium brand for its entry into the Canadian market.

“We want be the Starbucks of pickleball.”