Ace Pickleball Club Franchise Cost, Revenue & Review 2026
- Investment
- $818K – $2.4M
- Disclosed sales
- partial, no system average
- SBA charge-off
- Limited · 16 loans
Data from FDD filing + SBA 7(a) records
Analysis by FranchiseVerdict Research · Methodology
Ace Pickleball Club is a recreation franchise operating indoor pickleball clubs with courts, leagues, lessons, and a pro shop. Franchisees run the facilities, managing court bookings, memberships, and events.
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]. The 2025 FDD on file does not yield a unit-revenue figure we can publish. FranchiseVerdict grade: B (Above average), an editorial assessment, not investment advice. Run a live ROI scan →
Sources, dates and evidence
FDD issued: · Data extracted: · Last cited check: · Staleness risk: medium - issued 12 to 24 months ago; a newer filing is likely on file
Evidence: partial✓ Investment (Item 7)✓ Item 19 status✓ Units and owners (Item 20)✓ SBA loan coverage✓ Litigation (Item 3)✓ Financial statements (Item 21)✓ Franchisor identityhow this is scored5 of 5 headline figures on this page cite a page of the filing.
Overview
- Investment
- $818K – $2.4M
- 41st pct Recreation & …
- Avg gross sales
- N/A
- Company-owned only
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- 26th pct Recreation & …
- Units
- 11
- 26th pct Recreation & …
- SBA charge-off
- N/A
Quick verdict · Recreation & Entertainment · color = vs category peers
Green = favorable by >10% vs Recreation & Entertainment median · No shading = within ±10% · Red = unfavorable by >10% · Source: FDD filings + SBA 7(a)
Data from public FDD filings and SBA records. Not financial advice. Methodology
Bottom line
- COSTTotal investment $818K – $2.4M including a $60K franchise fee, 7.0% ongoing royalty.
- RETURNSItem 19 reports one affiliate-owned club in Roswell, Georgia (printed p.36). Nine franchisee-owned clubs existed but none operated a full calendar year. The reporting club also capped memberships and ran a waitlist for much of 2024.
- RISKVerdict B (Above average), verdict score 49/100 (higher is better).
- GROWTHNegative, pipeline stalled: 37 agreements signed but not yet open against 11 open outlets (Item 20).
- DATAItem 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands. Ask franchisees directly for full unit-level revenue.
Item 1 · who you're contracting with
The Franchisor
Corporate structure & franchisor financials
- Legal entity
- Ace Pickleball Club Franchise, LLC
- Parent company
- Ace Pickleball Club, LLC
- FDD Item 1, page 6 of the 2025 FDD
- CEO title
- President
- Joseph Sexton
- CEO experience
- 5 yrs
- Years in role or industry
- Incorporated in
- Nevada
- HQ
- 33 Mansell Court, Roswell, Georgia, 30076
- Auditor
- Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP
- Audited financials
- Franchisor revenue
- $519K
- vs $57K prior year
- Management churn noted
- Frequent turnover
- Item 2 disclosed frequent executive changes
Overview
About
- CEO
- Joseph Sexton
- Headquarters
- Georgia
- Founded
- 2023
- FDD year
- 2025
- States available
- 8
Can you afford it, and what does the money buy?
Entry cost runs 188% above the typical recreation & entertainment franchise.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 5–7
Full Item 7 breakdown17 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.
Item 7 · what it costs to open + operate
The Vitals
- Total investment
- $818K – $2.4M
- Middle of category vs category
- Liquid capital req'd
- $180K – $235K
- Middle of category vs category
- Franchise fee
- $60K – $60K
- Top 40% of category vs category
- Royalty
- 7.0%
- 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 |
| Inventory (initial) | $13K – $16K |
| Total fee load | 8.0% of rev |
What do units actually make?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 19
ROI & LBO modelsSingle-unit · 25-unit portfolio · editable
No Item 19 revenue figure for Ace Pickleball Club is on file. The return models need a revenue figure to start from, and the operating costs that turn gross sales into a profit are in no FDD. Enter your own and the calculator runs on your assumptions — nothing here is modelled until you do.
Returns model · single-unit ROIC
What would one Ace Pickleball Club unit return on the cash you put in?
Illustrative category typicals — not sourced to any filing, survey or sample. Replace them with figures from franchisee validation calls before you rely on the output.
Unlevered ROIC · per unit
Your modelled return on total invested capital, before any debt financing.
—
An FDD discloses gross sales, not profit. We hold no sourced figure for annual revenue, COGS, labour, rent / occupancy and other operating costs, and will not substitute an assumed one. Enter your own and the model runs on your assumptions.
These models are for research and scenario planning only. Not investment advice. Actual results depend on your specific location, management, and market conditions. Consult a franchise attorney and accountant before signing any franchise agreement.
Item 19 · Source: 2025 FDD
Financial Performance
Item 19 reports one affiliate-owned club in Roswell, Georgia (printed p.36). Nine franchisee-owned clubs existed but none operated a full calendar year. The reporting club also capped memberships and ran a waitlist for much of 2024.
Operator outlook
What the numbers say
Data-driven interpretation of this brand's financial disclosures, fee structure, and system trajectory.
Fee burden
Total ongoing fee load of 8.0% (near the Recreation & Entertainment median).
Disclosure
Item 19 reports outlet revenue, but not in a form that yields a per-outlet average we can compare across brands.
Source: FDD Item 19 financial performance representations and publicly filed FDD data. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Verify all figures with the franchisor and current franchisees before making any investment decision.
vs Recreation & Entertainment medians
How Ace Pickleball Club Compares
Category median of published Recreation & Entertainment brands that report the figure; the middle half spans the 25th to 75th percentile and n counts the brands behind it. Medians are used because a few very large systems pull an average far from the typical brand. Revenue is disclosed gross sales, not profit.
Is the system healthy?
Source: FDD 2025 · Item 20
Unit growth
Item 20 · unit dynamics
The Growth Chart
- Total units
- 11
- Opened
- 9
- Last reporting year
- Closed
- 1
- Terminated
- 0
- Franchisor ended the franchise (per Item 20)
- Non-renewed
- 0
- Term expired, not renewed (per Item 20)
- Turnover rate
- 9.1%
- Company-owned
- 3
- Corporate units in the system
- % franchised
- 73%
- vs corporate-owned
Last fiscal year · Item 20 exits and transfers
- Terminated
- 0
- Not renewed
- 0
- Transferred
- 0
- Reacquired
- 1
- Franchisor bought back
- Signed, not yet open
- 37
- 3.36 per open outlet · Item 20 Table 5
- Projected new
- 26
- Franchisor's next-year forecast
Year-over-year franchised unit counts and net change. Source: FDD Item 20.
Item 12 · 8 states reported
The Territory Map
FDD Item 12 reports the state count, but the specific list isn't in our current data. The map will appear once we re-extract from the FDD or enough franchisee contacts are available.
8
states with franchisees (per FDD Item 12)
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
- Limited · 16 loans
- Limited SBA coverage: 16 loans, rate hidden until 10 have resolved and loans reach 2% of franchised units
Historical SBA 7(a) lending data, not predictive of future performance. How SBA charge-off rates are calculated
- Repayment rate (PIF)
- Limited · 16 loans
- 5-yr charge-off
- Limited · 16 loans
- Loans approved 2021+
- Active lenders
- 5
- Defaults
- 0
- Typical loan rate
- 9.9%
- avg rate to borrowers
- Franchised industry avg
- 13.9%
- n=1,279 loans
- Jobs supported
- 178
- 1.0 per loan
- Lender concentration
- 67%
- top lender's share
Borrower mix: 100% went to startups / new businesses, 0% to established operators
Franchise vs independent — in all other amusement and recreation industries, franchised businesses charge off at 13.9% vs 16.2% for independents — franchising is associated with 14% lower SBA default risk in this category.
Top lenders financing Ace Pickleball Club franchisees
Showing 3 of 5 lenders. The full breakdown — every lender, state distribution, interest rates & risk ratings — is in the SBA Lending Report below.
Explore lender portfolios on Bank Reports or regional data on State Reports.
Lender network · 7(a) + 504
SBA Lending Report
Full lending analysis for Ace Pickleball Club from SBA 7(a) FOIA data.
- Principal loss rate
- 0.0%
- Avg SBA guarantee
- 68%
- Avg interest rate
- 9.88%
- Lender concentration
- 66.7%
- Job velocity
- 1.0 per $100K
- NAICS benchmark
- 7.0%
- NAICS 713990
- Jobs supported
- 178
Top SBA lendersTop lender holds 67% of loans
| # | Lender | Loans | Volume | Default % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Huntington National Bank | 10 | $9.3M | N/A |
| 2 | Midwest BankCentre | 2 | $2.8M | N/A |
| 3 | First Pryority Bank | 1 | $1.3M | N/A |
| 4 | Live Oak Banking Company | 1 | $2.8M | N/A |
| 5 | First United Bank and Trust Company | 1 | $1.4M | N/A |
Geographic failure vector
| State | Loans | Defaults | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| CACalifornia | 3 | 0 | -- |
| ALAlabama | 2 | 0 | -- |
| ILIllinois | 2 | 0 | -- |
| NENebraska | 2 | 0 | -- |
| NJNew Jersey | 2 | 0 | -- |
| TXTexas | 2 | 0 | -- |
| KSKansas | 1 | 0 | -- |
| OKOklahoma | 1 | 0 | -- |
SBA 7(a) lending trend
Borrower profile
Source: SBA 7(a) + 504 FOIA loan-level data, matched by FranchiseVerdict
What could kill this investment?
Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA · FDD Items 3, 21
Risk analysis
FranchiseVerdict rating + FDD Items 3, 4, 8, 16, 21
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.
Why this reads harsher than the B grade: the grade weighs financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency across the whole filing, while this summary lists individual flags without that weighting. The flags are worth checking with current owners; neither is investment advice.
Litigation (Item 3)
Subject: officers or affiliates. The franchisor is not a named party in these cases.
No litigation is required to be disclosed in Item 3.
Bankruptcy (Item 4)
None disclosed
Audited financials (Item 21)
Yes · Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP
Franchisor revenue (Item 21)
Franchisor entity revenue (not unit-level)
Supplier relationship · Items 8 & 16
- Franchisor sells you products: Yes
- Kickbacks from required suppliers: Yes
- Must buy proprietary products: Yes
- Restricted to system-approved products: Yes
- Can negotiate own supplier terms: No
Score breakdown · what drove the 49 / 100 verdict
- 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
Severity inferred from the FDD text · not a regulatory classification
What are you signing up for?
Ongoing fees run about 8.0% of sales (royalty + ad fund), before rent and labor.
Source: FDD 2025 · Items 11, 12, 17
FDD Items 12, 15, 17 · continued from Risk & Legal
Contract & Territory Detail
| Initial term | 10 years |
|---|---|
| Renewal term | 10 years |
| Allowed renewalsℹ | 1 |
| Territory type | Protected territory |
| Protected territory | Yes |
| Exclusive territoryℹ | No |
| Territory population | 100,000 |
| Online sales rightsℹ | Restricted |
| Franchisor can compete | Yes |
| Hire a manager? | Allowed |
| Owner-operator | Required |
| 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 |
| Curable defaultsℹ | 2 |
| 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 Item 3.
Items 10, 11
Training & Operations
- Classroom training
- 32 hrs
- On-the-job training
- 40 hrs
- Training location
- Roswell, Georgia (Training Club) and Ace Pickleball Club Academy (Online)
- Ongoing training
- Required
- Time to open
- 12 mo
- From signing to launch
- Franchisor financing
- Not offered
- Item 10
- POS system
- pickleballsoftware.com
- Operating tech stack
Items 5 & 11
Franchisor Support
Technology: pickleballsoftware.com
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?
Item 19 of the Ace Pickleball Club FDD discloses figures for part of the system but no single average across all outlets. These are gross sales figures, not profit; the Revenue section shows what the filing reports and on what basis. Item 20 of the FDD lists current and former franchisees; asking them directly is the standard way to fill this gap.
Who owns Ace Pickleball Club?
Ace Pickleball Club is franchised by Ace Pickleball Club Franchise, LLC. Its parent company is Ace Pickleball Club, LLC. Source: FDD Item 1, 2025 filing.
What is Item 19 in the Ace Pickleball Club FDD?
The FDD section where a franchisor may disclose financial performance of its outlets. Disclosure is optional and formats vary; figures are typically gross sales, which is revenue before expenses, not profit. FranchiseVerdict extracts these figures directly from the Ace Pickleball Club FDD and qualifies whose outlets they describe.
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 B-grade franchise with a verdict score of 49 out of 100 (higher is better). The grade is a deterministic score built from six weighted dimensions — financial health, unit economics, unit growth, scale, legal, and transparency — then calibrated against SBA loan charge-off rates and FDD age. Transparency is one of the six, so a filing that discloses less scores lower on that dimension than one that discloses more. 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.
For franchisors
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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.