Plans for a signature pickleball venue in the Valley have become impressive.
Pure Pickleball & Padel, previously known as Pure Pickleball, has expanded its design for a 186,000-square-foot facility near Scottsdale.
The area of the proposed facility has nearly doubled from the original plan of 108,000 square feet on 11.44 acres east of Loop 101 between Topgolf and OdySea Aquarium. The building will be located at the Riverwalk Development by CaliberCos Inc. (Nasdaq: CWD) on Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community land.
Inside, there will be 48 pickleball courts and two padel courts — a similar paddle-based game with a playable wall surrounding the court. There is also an area outside for 12 temporary courts, including a championship court with a 5,000-person capacity. It will be a membership-based club with some designated games open to the public.
The main floor will have a pro shop, a full-service restaurant and bar, locker rooms, workout and recovery rooms and a championship court that can hold up to 1,200 spectators. The second floor will include on-site childcare, box seating, a special event court, office space and a broadcasting booth. Pure Pickleball & Padel will also feature a rooftop bar and lounge.
Venue will host Arizona's professional pickleball team
Brett Warner, a co-founder of Pure Pickleball & Padel, said the venue will also be the home of the AZ Drive, a Major League Pickleball team supported by the Arizona Cardinals’ great Larry Fitzgerald Jr. While Kevin Berk, co-founder of Pure Pickleball & Padel, said that his company is working with USA Pickleball to make sure Pure Pickleball & Padel will be a host site for USA Pickleball & Padel National Championship.
“We want to host the biggest and most important tournaments. We want to be a major league venue. We know that this sport connects amateur players and new players to professionals. When we open, the Valley will be the capitol of pickleball. This is where everybody will come to play and where the biggest events will happen”, Warner said.
The goal is to start building next year and finish by 2026.
Pure Pickleball & Padel was the first to join the Riverwalk development last November, which covers about 80 acres that Caliber will develop. Chris Loeffler, CEO of Caliber, said there’s a lot of excitement attracting other users to Riverwalk. Caliber is about to announce a sports and entertainment facility and is planning to start an extended-stay hotel at the site.
Caliber bought almost 100 acres in 2022 to create a mixed-use project that will include entertainment, restaurants, retail, hotels, event spaces and art attractions. Caliber spent about $45 million to buy the land lease, in order to develop on Salt River, a Pima-Maricopa Indian Community property.
Phoenix-based companies, Wespac Construction and Davis, will be the main contractor and architect for the Pure Pickleball & Padel venue.
Loeffler said Caliber is raising money to construct the Pure Pickleball & Padel venue, which will cost about $60 million. Caliber, a real estate investment and development company, is putting in 50% equity to the project, while debt will cover the other half. They are raising money from investors through their Opportunity Zone Fund, a diversified fund that puts money directly into the project. As of September 9, Loeffler said that they have raised about 40% of the $30 million needed for equity.
“This idea is really cool! It connects with many different groups. I think people will want to join and be members for a long time...I believe this facility will be multi-generational.” Loeffler said.
Pure Pickleball & Padel will be one of several new retail projects in the area. The construction for both Talking Stick Resort & Casino and Topgolf are already happening at The Sydney, an entertainment-focused retail space by Palmer Development Group. Another major part of The Sydney is Reverb by Hard Rock Scottdale, a project worth over $100 million. Hard Rock said that the five-story hotel with 168 rooms will open in the spring or summer of 2026. The Rustic and Pickle & Social will also be included in The Sydney.
Last month, Austin-based Home Run Dugout, announced plans to open its 65,000-square-foot venue in the area. This idea, which is like Topgolf but for baseball, will be located at the intersection of Highway 101 and Talking Stick Way next to the current Topgolf facility.
Arizona is developing and at a pace to accommodate for the growing population and technological advancements that the world is dealing with today. The large investment in Arizona is bringing excitement and opportunity to our state. Stay tuned to hear more about Arizona business, innovation, real estate, and current concerns.
What innovations do you want to see be brought to Arizona? Are you interested and excited about the new Pickle Ball capitol construction anticipated in Scottsdale?
