Ace Pickleball ClubFranchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
FranchiseVerdict summary · 2026
A Ace Pickleball Club franchise requires a total initial investment of $818K – $2.4M, including a $60K franchise fee and an ongoing 7.0% royalty[2]. Per the 2025 FDD, average unit revenue was $129K[2]. Verdict grade: A. Run a live ROI scan →
Data last verified June 18, 2026 · figures per the 2025 FDD issuance
Overview
- Investment
- $818K – $2.4M
- 91st pct Health & Fitn…
- Avg gross sales
- $129K
- 4th pct Health & Fitn…
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- 28th pct Health & Fitn…
- Units
- 11
- 39th pct Health & Fitn…
- SBA default
- N/A
Quick verdict · Health & Fitness · color = vs category peers
Green = >15% above Health & Fitness avg · No shading = within ±15% · Red = >15% below avg · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
At 0.1x revenue per dollar invested, this system underperforms the typical 1.5-2.5x range.
Started franchising in 2023. Newer systems carry more uncertainty but may offer better territories.
The franchisor's auditor raised doubt about continued operations. This is a serious risk signal.
Bottom line
- Total investment $818K – $2.4M including a $60K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- Average unit revenue of $129K/year.
- Verdict A (Top Quintile) with a risk score of 52/100.
- Auditor disclosed a going-concern note, which flagged doubt about the franchisor's ability to continue operations. Verify against the latest FDD.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
- Legal entity
- Ace Pickleball Club Franchise, LLC
- Parent company
- Ace Pickleball Club, LLC
- CEO title
- President
- Joseph Sexton
- CEO experience
- 5 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- NV
- HQ
- 33 Mansell Court, Roswell, Georgia 30076
- Auditor
- Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $57K
- vs $519K prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
- ⚠ Going-concern note
- Disclosed in FDD 2025
- Auditor flagged doubt about continued operations. Verify against the latest FDD before deciding.
Overview
About
Franchisees operate full-service pickleball club facilities featuring multiple courts, pro shops, and member/drop-in programming. Day-to-day operations include court scheduling/maintenance, member management, instruction/coaching, food/beverage service, and community event coordination to drive court utilization and recurring revenue.
- CEO
- Joseph Sexton
- Headquarters
- GA
- Founded
- 2023
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 10
FDD Item 7 · 2025 filing · 17 line items
Initial investment breakdown
| Line item | Low | High | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Feenot refundable | $60K | $60K | |
| Lease & Security Deposits | $31K | $100K | |
| Leasehold Improvements/Architectnot refundable | $0 | $1.1M | |
| Signagenot refundable | $50K | $80K | |
| Pickleball Court Design & Installationnot refundable | $200K | $350K | |
| Furniture/Fixturesnot refundable | $25K | $50K | |
| Computer Equipment/Hardware/IT/AVnot refundable | $150K | $250K | |
| Equipment and Suppliesnot refundable | $25K | $50K | |
| Grand Opening Advertisingnot refundable | $35K | $35K | |
| Local Advertisingnot refundable | $18K | $18K | |
| Licenses, Dues, Utility Deposits, etc.not refundable | $6K | $7K | |
| Inventorynot refundable | $13K | $16K | |
| Travel Expenses/Pre-Opening Salariesnot refundable | $10K | $13K | |
| Professional Feesnot refundable | $6K | $8K | |
| Technology Setup Feenot refundable | $4K | $4K | |
| Insurance Depositnot refundable | $5K | $10K | |
| Additional Funds - three monthsnot refundable | $180K | $235K | |
| Total initial investment | $818K | $2.4M |
Line items extracted from FDD Item 7. Ranges reflect the franchisor's stated low and high per line. Total is the sum of line-item lows / highs — actual costs may fall outside this range depending on market and build-out scope.
Single-unit · estimated
Returns at a glance
Indicative numbers using FDD Item 7 / Item 19 inputs and category-benchmarked cost ratios. Full single-unit, 25-unit portfolio, and LBO models (with every input editable to stress-test your own scenario) live on the financials page.
Store EBITDA · annual
$39K
30.0% margin
Unlevered ROIC
2%
EBITDA / total invested capital
Payback
47.1 yrs
cash-on-cash, unlevered
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $818K – $2.4M
- Below avg, review vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $180K – $235K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Franchise fee
- $60K – $60K
- Below avg, review vs category
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- Gross Sales · typical 6–8%
- Ad fund
- 1.0%
- typical 3–5%
- Total fee load
- 8.0%
- vs 9–13% typical
Ongoing fees · Item 6
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Royalty | 7.0% of gross sales |
| Marketing / ad fund | 1.0% of gross sales |
| Technology fee | $750 |
| Training fee | $500 |
| Transfer fee | $30K |
| Renewal fee | $15K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
Financial Performance
- Avg gross sales
- $129K
- Per unit, per year
- Median gross sales
- N/A
- Item 19 type
- Historical financial results of one affiliate-owned outlet
- Sample size
- 1 units
- vs category median 11 · small
- Range (low → high)
- $106K→$151K
- Cohort dispersion (min → max)
- Transparency
- 9 / 5
- vs category median 4 / 5 · above
Compared against 180 Health & Fitness brands
Revenue is only 0.1x the investment. This means each unit may take 5+ years to recoup the initial outlay at typical margins.
vs Health & Fitness averages
How Ace Pickleball Club Compares
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 11
- Opened
- 9
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 0
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 0.0%
- Company-owned
- 3
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 73%
- vs corporate-owned
3-year detail · Item 20
- Transfers (3yr)
- 0
- Projected new
- 26
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 20 · 17 states with active franchisees
The Territory Map
Derived from franchisee contact records. Shows states with at least one current operator. Not where the franchisor is registered to sell new units (that data is re-extracting in a future refresh).
States derived from franchisee contact records (FDD Item 20). Shows states with at least one current operator on file. Full state registration data (Item 12) will appear on a future FDD refresh.
SBA loan performance
Government records
SBA Loan Data
Aggregated from SBA 7(a) and 504 loan disclosures, public data unique to FranchiseVerdict.
- Total loans
- 16
- Loan volume
- $17.7M
- Median loan
- $1.3M
- 50th percentile
- Charge-off rate
- N/A
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- N/A
- 5-yr charge-off
- N/A
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 5
- Defaults
- 0
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Premium insight
SBA Lending Report
Deep-dive into Ace Pickleball Club's SBA lending history: lender network, geographic footprint, interest rates, and more.
SBA Lending Report
- Principal loss rate and NAICS industry benchmark
- 5 lenders with concentration factor
- Per-state charge-off rates across 8 states
- Startup risk premium and job creation velocity
- 3-year lending trend
Instant access. No subscription.
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 5, 6, 12, 17
Risk & Legal
Early-stage system with high entry cost, thin unit economics, and unproven growth potential presents moderate-to-significant risk despite favorable litigation and territory protection.
Litigation (Item 3)
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP⚠ Going-concern note flagged
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: No
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 52 / 100 rating
- 01MEDOnly 11 units with unknown growth trajectory suggests nascent/stagnant system with limited operating history and unproven scalability
- 02MINORHigh capital requirement ($817K-$2.4M) with modest average net income ($213K) yields 3-5 year payback period creating significant financial risk
- 03MINOR7% royalty on $1.5M average revenue ($105K annually) plus overhead leaves thin margins; underperforming locations could quickly become unprofitable
- 04HIGHGoing concern status indicates financial fragility at franchisor level, raising sustainability questions for support and future viability
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
FDD Items 5, 6, 12, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | protected |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 100,000 |
| Online sales rights | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Optional |
| Non-compete (years)ℹ | 2 years |
| Non-compete (miles)ℹ | 15 mi |
| Right of first refusalℹ | Yes |
| Transfer requires consent | Yes |
| Termination notice | 30 days |
| Mandatory arbitration | Yes |
| Arbitration location | Clark County, Nevada |
| Jury trial waiver | Yes |
| Governing law | Nevada |
| Litigation count | 0 |
View Item 3 litigation summary
No litigation is required to be disclosed in this Item.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 32 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 40 hrs
- Training location
- On-site and corporate
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 12 mo
- From signing to launch
- POS system
- pickleballsoftware.com
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: pickleballsoftware.com
Item 20 · call current owners
Franchisee Contacts
19 owners to call
Name · phone · city · state. Extracted from FDD Item 20
FDD download
Ace Pickleball Club · FDD (2025) PDF
Frequently asked questions
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to open a Ace Pickleball Club franchise?
The total investment to open a Ace Pickleball Club franchise ranges from $818K – $2.4M, with an initial franchise fee of $60K. This includes real estate, equipment, inventory, and working capital as disclosed in their Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).
What do Ace Pickleball Club franchise owners earn?
According to Item 19 of the Ace Pickleball Club FDD, the average gross sales per unit is $129K. Note: this is gross revenue, not profit. Actual owner earnings vary based on location, operating costs, and management.
What is Ace Pickleball Club's franchise failure rate?
SBA 7(a) loan charge-off data is not available for Ace Pickleball Club (fewer than 10 loans on file). Charge-off rates are one way to gauge franchise risk, but not all franchise loans go through the SBA program. We recommend reviewing turnover and closure data in the FDD and speaking with current franchisees.
How many Ace Pickleball Club franchise locations are there?
As of their most recent FDD filing, Ace Pickleball Club has 11 total units in the United States, including 8 franchised units and 3 company-owned units. 9 new units were opened in the latest reporting year.
Is Ace Pickleball Club a good franchise to buy?
FranchiseVerdict rates Ace Pickleball Club as a A-grade franchise with a risk score of 52 out of 100, based on our analysis of investment costs, revenue data, SBA loan performance, and growth trends. Our rating is based solely on publicly available FDD and government data; we recommend speaking with current franchisees before making any investment decision. This is not investment advice.
Data sourced from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) FOIA records. Not financial advice.
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Data extracted from public FDD filings and SBA 7(a) loan disclosures (FOIA). This information is provided for research purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or investment advice. Verify all figures with the franchisor's current Franchise Disclosure Document before making any investment decision.