Episode 89 - The Pickleball Gold Rush: Is the Boom Here to Stay? Jeff Kipp of Premier Pickleball Club

[00:00:00] Thank you for joining in. I'm Mike. I'm Kizana. We're the Pickleballers Next Door. Want a pro-level pickleball court without pouring concrete? Discover rollout courts from Pickleball Management Group. They offer quick setup. The standard rollout court uses five textured polyvinyl rolls seamed together to make a 30x60 court, customizable. Or choose Pickle Deck, interlocking panels for any surface. Perfect for backyards, schools, events.

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[00:00:51] Hope you're all doing well and playing lots of pickleball and having lots of fun. I know I am. Hey, I have a special episode today. The Pickleball Gold Rush. Who is actually making the money? You know, I think we had last episode was where are we going in 2030? Well, I think this kind of follows into it. What's what's going to happen here? You know, so, you know, right now there's about 24 million people in 2025 playing pickleball.

[00:01:21] That's a lot of people playing pickleball. So from where this came from five years ago to where it is now. Wow. So, you know, who is doing it? You know what I mean? Is it the paddle, the paddle companies, the faculties, coaching tournaments? Is it clothing companies, YouTubers, podcasters, investors, franchisers? I mean, there's a whole lot of people in this business now.

[00:01:51] And I get it. When there's something hot, we all want to be part of it. And it's still hot. I mean, I think pickleball is not going anywhere soon, but I think some stuff is changing. So, but who's really actually making it? You know, is it is it any of those companies? You know, so, you know, remember when pickleball was cheap, you know, I mean, you could buy you could play for free mainly.

[00:02:16] Or you could go to your biggest expense was going to an indoor court at a rec center and paying five bucks for two hours. And I think it still is. I think the funny part is that pickleball in that situation hasn't changed. So you can still I know when I go, you know, to Branson, Missouri to see my daughter, they don't have the facilities we have here in Denver. So I go play a few times at the rec center because it is so hot outside or the weather is so bad.

[00:02:41] I you can't you'd rather play on a hardwood floor than to burn up or it rains. It can rain really bad there. But anyway, you know, I mean, even back in the day, I mean, a paddle, a good paddle was, you know, 50 bucks, 100 bucks was like a really good paddle. So paddles are over three hundred dollars. Most of the average good paddles are one eighty five to three hundred dollars.

[00:03:06] So that's changed a lot. The balls themselves. I mean, I remember I was buying balls for a dollar and this is only four or five years ago. Dollar fifty two bucks. We the balls are starting to get to five and six dollars a piece and they're good. I mean, I do like the new lifetime ball. I mean, you get your money's worth. They do last longer. A lot of the other balls on a cold day or you got a bunch of bangers, which I think we all are now.

[00:03:33] They crack. So I don't know. You know, in courts, you know, you could play outside for like a sand free. You know, I don't know. But, you know, shoes, bags, glasses, balls, membership, court fees, lessons, leagues, tournament entries. I mean, hotels, food. I mean, wow. It's really, you know, it's went, you know, crazy.

[00:04:00] And what's funny about that is just a few years ago, there was nothing, you know, there was just it was busy, but it was nothing. You know what I mean? So I don't know. I mean, there still is. You don't have to spend money, too, if you're just a you know, you can still play with an average paddle. You can still find some pretty good deals or a lot of people sell the nice paddles used. They try them and they don't they don't keep them.

[00:04:26] So but as I was talking about that, how about the paddle battle gold rush? Right. Oh, my God. I mean, how many paddles do we do? I know I have at least six paddles. That's crazy. And I don't know. I don't know if it's so much I think I'm going to play better. It's just that when you talk to other people and this new shiny, fun thing, you know, you want to try it, you know, and they're just the technology is crazy.

[00:04:55] The spin, the weight, the you know, the handle, the grips, the I mean, it's nuts. I mean, the bigger sweet spots, the power. I mean, the power now, you know, I think I talk of this online. I'm I'm actually since our last podcast, I'm ordering a bunch of the original wood paddles and I'm going to do a tournament that everybody has to play with that. I don't know if anybody's going to show up, but I think it would be a lot of fun because today.

[00:05:25] I mean, that ball is cooking. It's spinning. It's nuts. So I don't know. It's it's fun. I think as you progress, it's a little crazy. But isn't there days you just want to have some fun pickleball? Like I know as we get it, we up, you know, we level up. We want to do, you know, we want to, you know, play harder and better games. But isn't there a few days you just want to have some fun pickleball?

[00:05:54] I don't know. On my mind, that's that's what I think it should be, you know. But how many of you I'd like to know how many of you guys own? How many paddles do you own? One, three, five, ten. I think the average person that I see their bags, they usually have between two to five, you know, depending on how much they play. And they all do play a little different. I mean, we brought one out the other night or yesterday, a couple of days ago.

[00:06:19] I was playing with some guys and we brought a paddle out and we all that was the thing at the day. And now it's like, how did we even play with that? Right. You know, wow. You know, so I don't know. But the you know, the scary part is, is where where is it going? Is there any more? Or is it just going to become the the large companies that are going to be the people that sell paddles? Or is it going to is it going to still be so many companies that are trying to get these their paddles out here?

[00:06:49] And, you know, the funny part with is that I've talked to several from small business to big business. You know, it's like any other business. Ninety percent of the same paddle is being made for the big company as it is the other person. You know, I think the only difference is, is the big company is putting a lot more testing and time into it than the than the guy that goes, hey, I want a foam paddle and I want, you know, edgeless and I want the way here. You know, I think they have that paddle ready to go.

[00:07:19] But I think that where it puts the difference of the small guy selling the paddle and the big guy, they put a little more time into it. I really know they do. Their paddles are more consistent, but but also they have problems, too. The foam paddles came out and a lot of people had struggled with the foam paddle. You know, they're not holding up. I mean, literally three to five months and you have to get a new paddle and do the math. If you play a lot and you play every guy like me, I play almost every day.

[00:07:48] What's it going to cost me, you know, in paddles over the year? So I'm going to have to get another job. So I'd be interested if you guys would DM me or, you know, send something to me saying tell me how many paddles you have and how they made a big difference in your life. And I think they have. I do like it. I mean, does it make me lazier? Does it doesn't change my game? Yeah, it does. Because I don't have to do I don't have to work as hard to do crazy things to my opponents.

[00:08:17] So that's kind of neat. So. All right. How about the indoor faculty boom? You know, I mean, this is this is giant. I mean, these people have you know, I have opened up a lot of these different companies here in Colorado and some other states. And I mean, they put a lot of money. I mean, they the building. Oh, my gosh.

[00:08:42] You know, they find a building, which is cool because, you know, they take some of these buildings that have been was an old retailer and they turn them into pickleball, you know, courts. But that's a ton of money. You don't realize what goes into that. The H-pack, the lighting, the courts, the concessions, the, you know, getting the employees, the insurance, the marketing. I mean, I mean, it's nuts. The bathrooms. I mean, I'm in the construction field. If anybody's remodeled their bathroom.

[00:09:10] Imagine what it's like to do that, that size bathroom for two or three people. You know, what's it going to what's that cost? You know, you're talking a normal residential bathroom. A master bath runs from $25,000 to half a million dollars. So imagine what a commercial company has to pay to get that done. And it all has to be up to code. You don't just get to do whatever you want. You have to do it to code. The technology, you know, all of it. I mean, even the marketing.

[00:09:39] These companies, I mean, it's sad to say is here in Colorado, we have a lot of pickleball indoor courts. And they're beautiful, gorgeous. But I feel really bad at the same time because it is rough. You know, they have to work really hard to keep all those slots and those times open. I mean, you go in there a different, you know, like in the afternoons. I mean, they either have to spend a ton of money on marketing. They got to try to do specials. I mean, it's a lot. And these people put their heart and soul in this.

[00:10:08] Some people take loans on their home just to go get to own one of these faculties. And at the end of the day, the sad part about it is, it's not sad, but to me it's sad is that they love pickleball so much. And the boom was going so crazy that I could see how it would be easy to open a facility. And you build it, they will come. I don't think that's the case. I think that, you know, people are still budget conscious.

[00:10:34] You know, I think that, you know, $40 an hour, $50 an hour, $150 to $350 a month. I mean, there is companies out there charging $350 a month. Now, I hope that comes with a massage and something, but kind of funny, you know. Sorry about that. Phone always has to ring in my podcast. It's like, it won't ring any other time until I'm on the phone or until I'm doing a podcast.

[00:11:02] So, I don't know, you know, what do we, these companies have to work so, so hard, you know. So, and they are too. I mean, and they're, and I'm not saying that they're failing or anything, but I don't think people realize how hard they work to keep these facilities going for us. So, if you get a chance, support one, please. If you live in the neighborhood, play once a month there. I know you got your outside courts, but go play at an in-store facility. Support our pickleball.

[00:11:31] So, support the owners. It's a lot of work. So, I know, too, being a business owner, what it costs to be in business. I mean, you know, in our brain, when you're an entrepreneur, all you think is, I open it and they will come. I will sell it. They will buy. That's not the case. You have to work really hard. And it's like a roller coaster in business, right? You're going to have your ups and downs and your competition and you're going to make some bad decisions. It happens.

[00:11:58] And I think in these pickleball world, in the facilities, it's tough. So, anyway, you know, get back to me. Let me know what you think of that, you know. I was going to say the next one is coaches, you know. Now, this one, you can do good and bad. I think there's a lot of different ways you can go. I think coaching, when coaching started, when the pros came into pickleball, they had to find a way to make money to support this dream.

[00:12:28] I don't think they just came in here and went and played as a pro. You know, they had to start and work their way up. And when they worked their way up, there was no money yet. I mean, there was a few ones that were $1,000, $2,000. Yes, there is now. They are. Some are making millions of dollars. But, again, so are a bunch of music people. So are there in contractors. But those are small percentages when you really think about it. It's not big, you know.

[00:12:56] Because in this pickleball world, you know who there is? There's the everyday pickleball players that are like, that's how I started my podcast, is there's everyday players more than there are pros. Pros are awesome. I mean, the time and energy that they put into this. But I think a lot of them, the coaching, you know, the coaching came from they had to make to support their dream. They had to do coaching. They had to sell paddles. They had to represent brands.

[00:13:25] They had to get sponsorships. And so I still think you can make a lot of money in being a coach. And I'm going to say this just because I'm an entrepreneur. I think anything you ever do, you can make money. You just have to put in the effort. You have to do the action to get there. I think if you want to be a millionaire as a coach, you can. If you want to be a millionaire as a facility, you can. If you're a podcaster, you want to be a millionaire, you can.

[00:13:53] So I don't think there's any reason you couldn't, you know. But now we have, you know, there's a lot more beginners. There's intermediate players. There's clinics. There's camps. Private lessons. There's groups. There's video analysis. You know, online coaching. I mean, there's people that are coaching from all over the world that live in Florida, and they're coaching all over the world. So anyway, I think that there is a lot of opportunity still for coaches. And it's just, and for me, I coach.

[00:14:22] But I don't charge anybody. I don't charge anything to be a coach. I just help people. I want to have more people in this world and have fun, you know. And there's some people that can't afford all that. So I help everywhere I can. So, and I think there's other companies doing great things. I think USA Pickleball is, you know, serves. They're doing all kinds of good things. I know other people that are, you know, collecting paddles, the used ones, and donating those. I know people that are traveling around the world and starting Pickleball. So, I don't know.

[00:14:50] I think that there are people making a lot of money. And I think there's people, as myself, that are just giving back to Pickleball through coaching. So let me know, too, if you're a coach and what you think. I'd like to hear it from a different angle. And are you making the money? Are you winning at this, you know, Pickleball? You know, I mean, there are some pretty cool camps that come in, you know, and these big, some of these pros, they bring a group of people. And you'll be, I love the ones you go and you start on a Friday night and you end on a Sunday.

[00:15:20] I mean, just fun. You're with a pro and you go to different courts. I've had a lot of fun doing that. And I've had some private lessons that are just great, too. So I think it's there. I'm probably talking more because I am a coach. And so I'm just, I kind of understand it a little bit more than the average person that's in Pickleball. But if you're just thinking you're going to go coach a few people and make a lot of money, probably not going to. You got to work hard. You got to have your niche.

[00:15:49] And you got to know why you're doing it, you know. And if you think it's all about money, that's where you're going to make your first mistake. So keep pushing. Keep trying. All right. Well, everybody wants to start a Pickleball business, you know. Everybody. I mean, it's like anything that gets hot. You know, everybody here, you know, you've heard it from everybody. Pickleball clothing, Pickleball jewelry, Pickleball vacations. There's Pickleball dating, Pickleball apps, Pickleball tournaments,

[00:16:17] Pickleball networking, even Pickleball podcast. That's a little funny, right? You know, because I'm a Pickleball podcast. You know, I do. I do get it, you know. So, you know, who, you know, you, you, there is a place for Pickleball for any of these. But again, you know, when I started my podcast, I didn't do it to be a millionaire.

[00:16:47] I did it because I love Pickleball so much. And I felt like there wasn't enough information out there. Or, you know, there, there's, there wasn't much out there. And in any, in the, I like podcasts. And when I went to the podcast world, it was just about the same, the pros or about the, you know, what paddle I can buy or, or, you know, your coaching, you know, what move is going to win the, you know, win the, win the shot, you know. How about just to the, what's going on out there? How about the stories?

[00:17:14] How about the great people that, you know, you, you, you might never hear about. And so I wanted to get those people on here and I wanted the people that are doing great things. I wanted to get them on here. So, you know, anyway, I, I think there is still places to make money in it. It's what you're going to do, what you're, how you, what, how, how you go after it. If you have the passion for Pickleball and you love Pickleball, I think you can make some money.

[00:17:39] I think if you just go in for the craze, you might struggle a little bit because you're going to find out that we have community and that was hard for me to understand too. I used to think that it was just these, these groups, these, you know, these little, you know, people getting together and, you know, being, you know, closed off groups. But after I found that it's a community, so it's not about like, they want you to be involved. They want you to help. They want you to show up and, you know, they want to have fun. But if you're coming in here, just think, cause you, you do Pickleball,

[00:18:08] you're going to make a million dollars. People can see through you. I mean, they're going to know where you play. They're going to know, you're going to, people are going to know you. And, you know, I think it's, I think it's awesome if you, if you're in the, like the podcast world like I am, I haven't asked for nothing. I mean, you know, I don't, you know, I do, I would like to, it is a business and I would

[00:18:36] like to do this and to grow, but I put my time into it. I didn't ask for money. I haven't asked, I didn't go after big sponsorships. I just went out into the community and the community has accepted me in. And that's why I'm growing. I'm getting bigger and bigger. So anyway, that's just a thought, you know, you know, a thought to think about. So, well, how about the pros?

[00:19:03] I mean, I was just talking about them, you know, the pros is tough. I mean, it's like anything. I think being a pickleball player, I would love, I mean, my ultimate goal, you know, just like probably anybody that's an athlete wants to be a pro or the best at what they do. I can't wait. I'm going to, I want to try out for the seniors. I'd love to play for the Denver Iconics. One, they're an incredible group here. So if you don't know, go look up Denver Iconics.

[00:19:32] But the people that own that and run it, it is such a community and such a family. And these are awesome players. And you don't have to be old. They start at 40 years old, 50 years old, and 60 years old. So you can play in that group. I mean, I don't know if they're trying to say your 40-year-olds are getting old. But us 50-year-olds are going, hey, we're not old yet. I'm not dead. And I play pretty well. I feel like I can keep up with the young and the new.

[00:20:02] Maybe not as long. I can tire out a little quicker. But I will give you my all when I go into that court. But the pros, it's like anything. If you want to be a pro, you have to put the time in. And if you are really, really good and you put your time in and you're getting paid, that's why. Think of any other sport, football, baseball, you know, tennis. Any other sport. If you want to get paid or you have to put the time in.

[00:20:31] And that means you are going to be doing pickleball seven, eight hours a day. That's how you get good. Go talk to a pro. I'm going to get a pro on. I'm going to put a pro on. And you're going to just be surprised how much they drill. They don't go play. They drill and drill and ball machine and drill and drill and get coaching. They don't go play. If you're the regular player out there and you just keep going to open plays, think about it. You're really not progressing.

[00:21:00] You're just kind of staying the same. You might get a little better serve. You might be a little more consistent. But I can tell you from the people I played with five years ago and I go back and see them and play with them sometimes. They haven't progressed a whole lot. They're having fun. They don't care. And they're not trying to win. They just want to have fun. But at the end of the day, I think there's a lot of work you've got to put into it. You've got to do all the facets of it. You've got to go try out.

[00:21:29] And again, if there's 25 million people that played in 2025, how many people out of those 25 million are trying to be pros? Because when you get the pickleball itch, and you know who I'm talking to, all of us that are listening to this and the ones I go play with, you know it's crazy. And it's just you do want to get better and better and better and better. But I also used to be in the gym world.

[00:21:57] And, you know, you'd look in the gym. It was never good enough. When I hit a 500-pound bench, what do I do now? I guess I need a 600-pound bench. You know what I mean? It's never – it's like any sport or anything you do, you have to – you want more. You want more. And I don't think – I think at the end of the day at pickleball, so when I started, when I heard about 5-0s and 5-plus and 6-0, I was just like, wow.

[00:22:27] You know what I mean? But you know what they're saying today? That the new 4-0, a true 4-0, is like a 3-5. It's like that's what we are now today. We are not – you know, it has progressed so fast and going so quick that you're leveling up. And so there is 7-0s now. You know what I mean? It goes up to 8. And that just floors me. But I have got to play with, like, some of the guys on Friday paddles and some other great pros.

[00:22:56] Man, when you play with a pro, it puts you right back in your place to go, I realize that I am not as good as I thought I was. And I see why they are good because they put the time in. So you can make millions, and there are people making millions, but they have dedicated their life to pickleball. And some have natural talent, and some of us don't. I mean, it's just the way it is, you know. Some people are good at some things, and some people aren't.

[00:23:24] So I think that as far as the pros, you know, that's up to you. You want to take that level? Put the money and time into it? Get sponsors? But that's where all this started with the coaching from the pros and selling paddles and pushing paddles and getting sponsorships is because back in the day, this is only a few years ago, they didn't get paid to travel. It cost them a lot of money to get to pickleball tournaments, especially the big ones, the golden tickets and everything.

[00:23:54] They got a beautiful, you know, oh, my gosh, they got hundreds of, you know, necklaces and some trophies, but that's what they got. Very little money. Now there is a million dollars. There is, you know, Nike is sponsoring pro players, and I mean, there is a lot of money. And some of the big leagues, the PPA, APP, you know, USA, I mean, these are huge, and they do giant tournaments.

[00:24:20] Nationals is next month, and that is huge, you know, and PPA is just, they're just going after it, though. And if you never watch the pros, please watch them. Go on YouTube. Go on, you know, there's Pickleball TV. I mean, there is ways to watch them, and you will just be astounded how good they are. And they can look easy. You know, we work so hard just to have a good game. They work hard to win games, you know. So, I'm sorry.

[00:24:49] I'm beating kind of a dead horse because, you know, I want to be a pro. I mean, if you don't, you know, who doesn't? So, but, you know, that's where it's at. But this is a funny one I was thinking about is what if somebody handed me a million dollars, or I had a million dollars, or I could go borrow a million dollars. How would I invest that in Pickleball? You know, what if somebody gave you a million dollars? Well, you want to know the funny thing? You can't open a facility.

[00:25:19] You could. I mean, I'm sure if you had a million dollars and you could get loans, you could get it done. But if you really wanted to open cash-free, pay it off, you couldn't do it. It costs a million five to two million now to open a mid-size Pickleball facility. Mid-size. And mid-size is 10 to 12 quarts. Anything under that is a small Pickleball facility. So, and that's a million dollars. So, I couldn't do that. Could I invest in, you know, maybe paddles?

[00:25:49] Well, maybe I can go into the paddle companies, you know? You know? I mean, oh my gosh. You know what the, I probably have an opportunity. I mean, if you have a million dollars to throw at something like that, I think I could, you know. But there's so many big players in it now. And they're buying, now they're starting to buy each other out. So, now that if they got, you know, if a company got big enough, but the other bigger company, seeing that they were growing, they buy them out. So, that's where we are with the paddles.

[00:26:18] Corporation, Pickleball, events, you know, travel, you know. Podcast. Hey guys, how about a podcast? Podcast. You know? I mean, I, when I did, you know, when I opened this, I wasn't looking to make money. I had my own businesses. But I would have liked to, right? I mean, I do do this and work really hard to put these shows out. I go to a lot of Pickleball events. I mean, I put my time into it.

[00:26:48] But I told you before, you have to be part of the community. Now, where I think it would do well, if I had a million dollars, I think that if you were, I think there's, I think like USA Pickleball and some of the companies that are governing some of the Pickleball, that might be a good investment to help the growth of it. But I don't know about, you know, opening up shops or Pickleball stores.

[00:27:13] You know, now all the big, the big chains, Dick's Sporting Goods and the big, the big chains have got in and now are selling the upper end paddles and everything. So I don't know. I don't know. I don't know where, I don't, I couldn't honestly tell you where I could put the, you know, put the million dollars into it. I wouldn't, I don't even know if I'd feel comfortable putting a million dollars into Pickleball right now.

[00:27:36] I just don't think there's anywhere that you, you probably have a better chance putting it into the stock market, you know? And you know what that's like right now, right? You know, it's up and down. But I don't know. I'd like to hear from you guys to know where you, if you, if I was to hand you a million dollars, where you would put it in Pickleball? You know, would you do clothing? Would you do paddles? Would you do a facility? Would you do, you know, some type of ball? Would you invent something? You know?

[00:28:05] But nowadays in business, a million dollars isn't that much. I hate to tell you, you can blow through a million dollars in business. And I know I've went through millions in my own businesses. So it's not, you know, sounds like a lot of money. But it's probably a scary, it'd be a scary expense, you know? So, but hey, let me know. So I'd like to know, that'd be fun to get some feedback on that and see what you guys, you know, what you think, you know?

[00:28:31] And, but, you know, let me know where you're at in this Pickle, this Gold Rush, you know? Are you in facilities? Are you in tournaments? Are you selling some type of gear, you know? You know, I'm excited. So, and thank you so much. I appreciate everybody. And we also, I have a special guest on that is, that did open a facility. And he's, you're going to hear his story. His name is Jeff.

[00:28:53] And I actually moved my podcast to his facility off of 6th in, 6th in Sheridan. It's called Denver Racket Club. They do padel. They have beautiful. They just spent $800,000 on courts. I mean, they are, it's just crazy. They have, they've been around since 1976 in the tennis world. And now they're in the pickleball world.

[00:29:22] I mean, they want to be part of it. So that's pretty cool. And if you guys never tried padel, you got to try it. It's awesome. So anyway, let me know. Let me, let me, you know, listen to the little story I have with him. And let me know about your, your, your pickleball adventures if you have one. And I'll put you on here. If you have a goal, you're in the gold rush and you have a paddle, a gadget or something, get, get it, call me. I'll put you on the air and we'll talk about it.

[00:29:52] I love to talk and see. There's, there's some neat things being done too. So I just want to shout out to all my sponsors, my lovely wife, my, all my children, my grandkids, all the pickleballers that I get to play with and meet all the time. Thank you. All my listeners. Today, I'm with a special guest named Jeff Kipton. I hope I said that right. Yeah. Jeff Kip. Kip. I, I'm just, I'm terrible at names. So tell us a little about who you are and where we're at. Hi.

[00:30:22] So I'm a Denver, uh, pickleball player who learned in Michigan from my wife's great uncle who lived in Florida for a number of summers and winters. And as a result, got introduced here to a next door neighbor. We played at Congress park, which, uh, is in the city of Denver where the city, I think right before COVID shut it all down. Oh yeah. And it's been a sad story there.

[00:30:48] But as part of that, I have a group of people, uh, some guys who are parents of my next, uh, uh, children who went to good shepherd in the city and he was their cross country coach. And as a result, he got all these guys together every Sunday to play at Congress park. Nice. And it was great, uh, until it wasn't there anymore.

[00:31:12] And at that point, uh, right after COVID, uh, we put together a group of people and I had a, I have a business that does a little bit of real estate investment. We had a warehouse and we turned a part of that building into two pickleball courts, which are super awesome. So, uh, it's called premier pickle club. We're marketed through Denver racket club, which is right down the street where tennis is their main sport.

[00:31:40] Tennis and Paddel, which they have some pretty cool, that pretty cool place. It is. It's a great relationship. And we'd like to take advantage of that, uh, membership opportunity and increase our utilization of these courts. Right now we probably have, uh, about 70% of the time available from 6 AM to midnight for

[00:32:06] more pickleball play from beginner all the way through what we consider to be, uh, a great competitive level. So, oh yeah. And this is, these are actually open 24 seven. They are. Cause it's coded. So you could, you want to play at 11 o'clock at night. You can come play at 11 o'clock at night. Absolutely. So this is pretty neat, but you got the bug, like you knew to build, since you had this real estate and you had the bug and you love pickleball, you invested into this, right?

[00:32:31] And the whole story, the story about this is, is that it all looks good on paper and, and, and all the people look like they're going to follow and all this good stuff's going to happen. But there's these journeys along this journey, things happen that don't go so well, right? That is correct. So when we started the process, we figured within three months construction, we'd have courts available both indoor and outdoor. And, uh, the city of Lakewood was a little bit of a hurdle in order to achieve that.

[00:32:58] So we ended up taking almost a year of paying rent on our space without revenue and without pickleball courts. And, uh, as a result of it, we built two indoor courts and then did not build outdoor courts yet. Yeah. Yeah. And I think it's coming. We just, it's again, when you work with these different cities and the zoning for different areas, it's tough. It is. It's tough. And, and, and how do you know that? You know, none of us know that. And when we're thinking, we're thinking pickleball.

[00:33:27] I know we're, you know, you're, you have a construction background, right? And I'm in construction and we kind of think that way, but pickleball does something to our brain, right? We're ready to get some courts up and get playing. Absolutely. It's a too fun a game just to, uh, not be able to play with whom you want, when you want and have a couple hours of great exercise as well as the challenge, as everybody knows, of playing good pickleball. Now you went with a different type of court than all the traditional courts here.

[00:33:56] We did for a couple of reasons. Uh, it was an existing warehouse with a lot of rutted concrete and we knew we either had to pour new concrete or put a surface over it. So we chose a cushion surface. It's, uh, uh, pebbles of rubber that are embedded in epoxy and it's troweled down and it then creates a court that is a little easier on our mature bodies.

[00:34:23] Well, I got to say this, that when I come on, I started, you've been here, I started here about a week ago and you invited me to play here. When I stepped on the court, I thought I put those insole things in my shoes. My knees and back are feeling great. I just played two hours with you guys and I don't even feel like I played. I can go play two more hours on a normal traditional outside or inside court. I would already be done for the day. Absolutely. I played three times a week here for two hour periods.

[00:34:48] And, uh, if I go to do that similar thing on a traditional court, I'm sore the next day. And it just isn't the case here. The, um, vendor, uh, who supplied this says it has about a 19%, uh, softness to it. But, uh, does it, uh, impact the flight of the ball a little bit? Maybe, but it's very consistent. Very consistent. We're playing with lifetime balls. We're playing with Franklin balls.

[00:35:18] We're not playing with like the, the wooden indoor wrecked balls. This is, we're playing with regular balls. Now you get, you get a little skip here or there, but it's a fun play. It's a fast and fun play. Now you got, you got to change your play a little bit. Just like any, any, any place you, I talk to you guys about this all the time. I travel around the world playing pickleball. And even out of the courts from conditions, from humidity to down at sea level, play a different play, even on a regular court. But this is a fun play. And these guys here, you're going to hear about this. I'm going to put some stuff out on T breach and we're going to talk about it on pig bars

[00:35:48] next door. Um, there's going to be some good play here. We're going to have from your four plus players, which is who we're playing with now. And we're going to have the three O's, the four O's that we're going to be talking about. That'll have be on our team reach. And you're going to have some fun. We're going to have some events here too. Absolutely. It's also the kind of place where you can hear yourself think. We have music going in the background, uh, and it, uh, provides a great atmosphere for learning the game. If you're a beginner and want to get started, this is the place to do it really is.

[00:36:16] We've got a ball machine here and there's this great company that just moved in called pickleballers next door, the podcast. I just moved in and I'm actually here full time. So this is my new studio. As you guys know, my studio downtown turned into condos. Like we needed more condos and apartments, but I guess we do. I I'm not in that business, but, um, I was very sad to go. But, uh, Jeff. So the thing of this is you're still here. You're not giving up on it. You're going to take this thing to the end, but it's been a tough, it hasn't been an easy journey. It has not.

[00:36:45] And, uh, we have, um, a number of members who are real enthusiastic about taking this to the next level so that we have, you know, a utilization where people are playing here all day and all evening and seven days a week. Uh, so that's what we'd like to, uh, progress towards. It's a great location too. It's easy to get to 6th Avenue and Sheridan. Little difficult if it's really on the corner of 6th, Sheridan and 6th Avenue.

[00:37:13] So you can bypass it really quick, but it's in a great location. Ceilings are high. Lighting is great. Nets are up. So balls aren't flying all over. Beautiful. I'm going to send you guys will see some pictures. I've already think I put some pictures out there, but, uh, you guys will see here. Beautiful core and Jeff here. Great guy. He's, he wants to build the community. That's really his goal. He wants to, I mean, he just like any owner, he owns a business. He does. He'd like to make some of his money back, but he's invested in this and he's going to stick with it till the end.

[00:37:41] And, uh, I, I'm telling you guys, you're going to watch this. It's, it's growing already. Um, I'm here and other people are here and this thing's good. You're going to want to be here and play. Yeah. And, uh, in comparison to some of the other larger organizations out there, uh, we're also very affordable. So yeah. Yeah. The pricing here, we guys, it's, it's incredible. Um, and you can, if you want to play Padell too, and you like tennis, it's connected to that. So you get, you know, you can have this whole package deal where you can play all of them. So absolutely. So it's neat.

[00:38:10] Get a direct, uh, just pickleball only membership, or you can do a full Denver racket club and play tennis, play Padell, play platform tennis and pickleball. And he got a gym there. Full gym. And a gym. Yeah. I was over there and these Padell courts are brand new. I think these Padell courts are only not even a year old. Correct. They're beautiful. So guys keep tuned. Jeff here is awesome. Um, we're going to have him on some more, especially I'm in the club. And so we'll be talking a lot more, but he's here to facilitate, to make this grow, but let's help him grow too.

[00:38:40] Just like all these clubs. I mean, everybody thought, you know, open a club and they will come. It's true in a way and not true in another way. You know, it's a lot of work and, uh, we're putting the work in and it's going to happen. Fantastic. All right, Jeff. Well, have a great day and we'll, uh, we'll talk to you soon. Thank you, Mike. Thanks. Denver. Feel that energy. Professional pickleball is here.

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