St. Pete Athletic — a nearly 2-acre complex — will have nine indoor courts and seven outdoor courts. In addition to the courts, the site will have a restaurant, bar, gym, a pro shop and amenities like lockers, showers and bathrooms. “There’s no central location for all those players or place for them to come together,” says St. Pete Athletic managing partner Reuben Pressman. “This is going to be that place.”

St. Pete Athletic, a pickleball facility with 16 indoor and outdoor courts, announced it would open in downtown St. Petersburg, Fla. sometime this year, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

The center will be designed to act as a hub for the local pickleball community, said St. Pete Athletic managing partner Reuben Pressman. In addition to the courts, St. Pete Athletic would also have a restaurant, bar, gym, a pro shop and amenities like lockers, showers and bathrooms, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

“There’s no central location for all those players or place for them to come together,” said Pressman, 33. “This is going to be that place.”

Pickleball, a sport like tennis that requires smaller courts and a ball similar to a wiffle ball, exploded in popularity during the pandemic as people had more time and were looking to be more active, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Many found the sport to be easier and cheaper to pick up than tennis. Players can compete against each other in singles or pairs.

In a span of three years, the sport grew over 158.6% to 8.9 million players across the country, according to a 2023 Sports & Fitness Industry Association report. The number of players more than doubled in 2022, growing 85.7% in a year, the report found. Another study from the Association of Pickleball Professionals said that number could be even higher — counting more than 36 million people over 18 years old who played at least once in 2022, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

Pickleball has also become a local political force, and the demand has pushed many cities and counties to look for options, fueling tension with the tennis community, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Another developer, based in Sarasota, is working on building 15 complexes across the state, including one in Lakewood Ranch, and said they’re eyeing Pinellas Park, St. Petersburg or Tampa in the near future.

“St. Pete is a perfect place to play. It has all the demographics that are interested in this, from young families all the way up to the senior side that’s been playing it for the longest, to competitive and professional players that are in their 20s and 30s,” Pressman said.

St. Pete Athletic — a nearly 2-acre complex in downtown St. Pete — arose from the growing needs of pickleballers, Pressman said to the Tampa Bay Times. Many city courts lack features such as access to bathrooms, lockers or showers, which St. Pete Athletic will have.

It can also be challenging for players new and old to find courts to play on, Pressman told the Tampa Bay Times. It’s even harder to find one indoors to escape the brunt of Florida’s heat and thunderstorms in the summer.

St. Pete Athletic plans to build nine indoor courts, and the remaining seven will be outdoors, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

But even though they’re adding more pickleball courts in the city, Pressman said St. Pete Athletic could still struggle with demand.

“The city has something like 24 to 26 courts, and we’re going to be adding 16,” Pressman said to the Tampa Bay Times. “And even with that, I don’t know if it’ll be enough.”

Pressman, a player himself and once St. Petersburg’s entrepreneur in residence, teamed up with local real estate developer Jonathan Dauo, pickleball professional and co-owner of the MLP Florida Smash, Travis Rettenmaier, and Intermezzo Coffee and Cocktails founder Jarrett Sabatini to pull St. Pete Athletic together, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

St. Pete Athletic plans to have a three-tier program, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Visitors can get hourly or daily access or an “all access, anytime play” membership.

The complex is set to have a restaurant and bar serving both healthier foods and classic staples like burgers, Pressman said to the Tampa Bay Times. There’s also an opportunity to build a hotel on the property for tourists or tournament players who travel for competitions, he added, though that’s still in the early stages.

The complex is also set to host leagues and tournaments and offer birthday parties, lessons and access to professionals, the Tampa Bay Times reported. Pressman did not confirm when St. Pete Athletic will open though he said at some point this year.

With all the extra amenities and a number of courts, Pressman said St. Pete Athletic can be a place where people can spend half their day with friends or family, the Tampa Bay Times reported.

“The city’s doing their job. They’re adding courts. But they obviously can’t put 100 courts in because they gotta leave room for other sports and other things people are interested in,” Pressman said. “It just makes a ton of sense what they’re doing and it leaves a lot of room for what we’re doing.”