CityPickle to Expand Pickleball Club Concept
Combining Indoor Courts with Full Bar and Restaurant
and Activations in Iconic Public Spaces
NEW
YORK, June 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Avenue
Sports Fund today announced it has made a significant minority
investment in CityPickle, the urban home for pickleball. The new
capital will support CityPickle's plans to expand the locations of
its permanent, indoor pickleball club concept in addition to
strategic activations at iconic landmarks in metropolitan
areas.
Pickleball has been the fastest-growing sport in the United States over the past four years.
According to estimates, nearly 40 million people nationally have
played pickleball at least once in the past 12 months. CityPickle
focused initially on New York City
and the Greater New York market,
where research suggests 5 to 6 million people played pickleball in
2023, despite limited supply for courts.
Co-founded by two female entrepreneurs, Mary Cannon and Erica
Desai, in the summer of 2021, CityPickle is addressing the
supply-demand imbalance for courts in dense urban areas by building
pickleball clubs that combine indoor, bookable courts with a full
bar and restaurant—making it the ideal destination to spend quality
time with friends, colleagues, and family. The brand also installs
seasonal courts at high-profile locations. CityPickle offers a
variety of playing options to book, including: court reservations,
clinics, open play, one-on-one coaching, private and corporate
events.
In fall 2023, CityPickle opened its first permanent pickleball
club in Long Island City, New York
and is the seasonal partner of Wollman Park Partners, which
operates the iconic Wollman Rink in Central Park. CityPickle at
Wollman Rink is the largest pickleball installation in the
Northeast with 14 permanent courts, providing 182 hours of play a
day. CityPickle operates other seasonal pickleball experiences
including a seven-court, indoor location at Brooklyn's Industry City in addition to
activations at Hudson Yards, Union Square Park, and Philadelphia's City Hall. In June 2024 it was announced CityPickle has been
selected by NYC Parks to revitalize Anchorage Plaza, the 60,000
square foot space under Brooklyn Bridge, with pickleball courts,
public art, community programming, food trucks and more and will
debut in Spring 2025.
"There is a significant opportunity to provide permanent and
pop-up pickleball locations to service the growing and passionate
demand for this sport," said Marc
Lasry, Avenue Capital's Chairman, CEO and Co-Founder.
"CityPickle, led by co-founders Erica
Desai and Mary Cannon, has
established a special brand that is relevant to urban locations
nationwide. We are excited to join with the CityPickle team to
support its expansion strategy."
"We are thrilled to have the Avenue Sports Fund join our team at
CityPickle as we further our mission to spread the joy and
community of pickleball in New York
City and other metropolitan areas," said Mary Cannon, CityPickle Co-founder. "We've
experienced an overwhelming demand for more access to pickleball
and are looking forward to expanding our ability to offer a
best-in-class experience to the rapidly growing player population
alongside our new partners at Avenue Sports Fund," added
Erica Desai, CityPickle
Co-founder.
About Avenue Sports Fund
Launched in 2023,
Avenue Sports Fund provides capital solutions to a wide variety of
established teams and leagues across the globe, as well as
investments in emerging sport properties to capitalize on areas of
exponential growth. The Sports Fund also invests in sports-related
media and entertainment rights, real estate, and other adjacent
businesses. Avenue Sports Fund, led by Marc Lasry, is
a fund of Avenue Capital group, a global investment firm focused on
making opportunistic credit and other special situation investments
across the United States,
Europe, and Asia. Avenue, founded in 1995 by Mr.
Lasry and Sonia Gardner, draws
on the skills and experience of over 60 investment professionals
and more than 180 employees operating from its headquarters in
New York and offices in
Europe, Asia and Abu
Dhabi. Avenue has assets under management of approximately
$12.5 billion.
About CityPickle
CityPickle is the urban home
for pickleball. CityPickle opened its
first, permanent pickleball club in Long Island City in 2023, which combines
indoor, bookable courts with a full bar and
restaurant, making it the ideal destination to spend quality time
with friends, colleagues and family. CityPickle is
also Wollman Rink in Central Park's official seasonal
partner where it operates the largest pickleball
installation in the Northeast with 14 permanent courts and
182 hours of play a day. CityPickle operates other
seasonal pickleball experiences like a seven-court,
indoor location at Brooklyn's
Industry City in addition to activations at Hudson
Yards, Union Square Park, and Philadelphia's City Hall. CityPickle
will continue to partner with high-profile destinations in
cities as it strategically develops new club locations.
Media Contacts:
For Avenue: Todd Fogarty, Kekst
CNC, todd.fogarty@kekstcnc.com
For CityPickle: Ashton
McLeod, BerlinRosen,
citypickle@berlinrosen.com
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content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/avenue-sports-fund-invests-in-citypickle-supporting-growth-of-leading-lifestyle-brand-providing-pickleball-in-urban-settings-302184626.html
SOURCE Avenue Capital Group