A new social club concept called Ballers, seeking to build off the popularity of sports such as pickleball and padel, has raised $20 million from a deep bench of professional athletes and sports-focused investors.
The Series A venture capital round announced Monday is led by Sharp Alpha, which recently threw its weight behind the new Poolhouse concept, and RHC Group, a year-old sports and entertainment investment firm from Canadian investor Richard Hsiao, probably best known as a Milwaukee Bucks superfan. The investment group includes upwards of 30 professional athletes, including tennis’ Andre Agassi, Kim Clijsters and Sloane Stephens; pickleball star Connor Garnett; and MLS goalie Maarten Paes, plus some two dozen NFL and NBA players whose names aren’t being publicly disclosed. Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils co-owner David Blitzer is also in the funding round.
“You see a lot of entertainment places that are more games and less geared around sports. Seeing the renaissance of racket sports—tennis, pickleball, padel—we had this ‘a-ha’ moment that competitive socializing needs entertainment,” Ballers CEO David Gutstadt said on a phone call.
Gutstadt and co-founder Amanda Potter believe pairing a sports club mostly themed around racket sports with bar-restaurants has strong appeal; typically, people will play at a sports club but then need to go elsewhere for post-match socializing. “Every Ballers will have a food and beverage offering—a three-meal restaurant, craft cocktails, full bar and recipes that are unique, along the lines of an elevated pub,” Potter said on a phone call. “We’re trying to get more creative and fun with our menu—definitely not the typical flatbreads, burgers and wings.”
The Philadelphia location opens in the next few weeks after a successful pop-up of the concept last summer. In a vaulted portion of the city’s Turbine Hall, once the largest power plant in Philly, the club will offer six championship-style pickleball courts, three padel courts, two squash courts, a turf field, golf simulators and a putting green. Food and beverages are being developed by chef Mitch Prensky, known for high-end farm-to-table restaurants; spaces will be available for events and late-night DJ sets.
The latest VC round bring Ballers’ capital to about $30 million, when added to the funds originally raised just for the Philadelphia location, Gutstadt says. The new money will be used to open three locations as part of a long-term plan to open more than 50 branches nationally in the next seven to 10 years. Later this summer, Ballers will open in Boston’s Seaport district; the area that was once vast parking lots for the city’s financial district is becoming a hub of sports-themed food and drink venues, including F1 Arcade, Puttshack, Flight Club Darts and ping pong-focused Spin.
The Boston Ballers location will be outdoors, offering the city’s first padel courts along with pickleball courts that will convert to ice rinks in winter. The company also plans to open an indoor location in Los Angeles and another in Miami by the middle of 2026.
“Timing matters. This company is launching at a moment when market tailwinds, behavioral shifts, and consumer demand are aligned,” Sharp Alpha managing partner Lloyd Danzig said in an email. “We’re observing a sustained shift in consumer preferences toward experiences that facilitate social engagement. Ballers is purpose-built for this.”
Research by RacquetX cited by Ballers says that 43% of people of respondents play more than one racket sport, lending credence to Baller’s aim to include both padel and pickleball at each location. While people will be able to walk in off the street and reserve a court or eat at the bars, Ballers will mainly cater to members who will pay $99 to $499 a month, the price varying depending on access to “luxury locker rooms,” members-only recovery spaces and special events.
“I was looking for a long-time for a well-done padel project because I think it’s important in this time that people are coming together instead of being divided,” soccer’s Paes said on a video call from Jakarta, where he is playing for the Indonesian national team. “Padel is my favorite sport outside of soccer, and there’s not that much here in the U.S. I saw the beautiful location opening up in Philadelphia along with the hospitality team and the investment team and I wanted to be a part of that.”
English (US) ·