Under LOI - Acquiring an indoor Pickleball business

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April 30, 2026

by a searcher from Columbia University - Columbia Business School in Princeton, NJ, USA

Hi, currently under LOI on a 30,000+ sq ft climate-controlled indoor pickleball facility here in New Jersey with 13 courts, grand opened for a full year. Here are the key deal terms: 📋 The Deal: • $1.2M buildout cost, Revenue $1.1M, Net income $150,000 • Lease: $400,000/year (~$13.33/sqft) • Purchase option of real estate: $275/sqft (~$8.25M at 30K sqft) • 13 pickleball courts, fully climate controlled • Located in New Jersey We're working through our underwriting now and want to gut-check a few things with people who've been in the space: ❓ Questions for the community: 1. For those who operate or have evaluated indoor pickleball facilities — does $400K/year on 30K+ sqft feel reasonable for NJ, or are we leaving room on the table in negotiations? 2. At $275/sqft, is the purchase option worth exercising down the road, or would you stay a tenant and deploy that capital into operations/marketing? 3. What's a realistic court utilization rate to underwrite in year 1 vs. year 3 for a market like New Jersey? 4. Any operators here who can share what ancillary revenue streams (memberships, lessons, leagues, F&B, pro shop) have moved the needle most? 5. Biggest surprises or landmines we should pressure-test before we sign? We believe in the market — pickleball demand in the Northeast is real — but we want to make sure we're not missing something. Would genuinely appreciate perspectives from operators, investors, or anyone who's been through a similar deal. Thank you!
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Reply by a lender
from Cornell University in Los Angeles, CA, USA
Hi ^redacted‌ - nice to meet you. Congratulations on getting this deal under LOI. I've financed many of these businesses in the past. Here are my thoughts: Rent is too high. $400K on $1.1M revenue means 36% goes to rent. Should be under 20%. Negotiate it down or show how you're getting revenue way up fast. If you use the SBA, this is the challenge. You net $150K but SBA payments on $1.2M would be around $195K/year. Lenders need you making at least $250K+ net before they'll say yes. Don't buy the building. $8.25M for real estate when the business nets $150K after one year? No. Stay a tenant, prove the business works, buy later. If you ever need help reviewing a deal, I am happy to help. We work with all the major SBA lenders. The bank pay us after your loan closes, so this is a 100% free service for you. You can email me directly at redacted or schedule a meeting with me: https://cal.com/francodeguzman/30min. Look forward to chatting!
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Reply by a searcher
from Dartmouth College in Princeton, NJ, USA
Hi Henry: I have not looked into pickle ball - I'm more of a tennis player but I live near Princeton, I'm a business owner, and spend a bit of time on real estate. That said, a few comments: 1 & 2. Real estate value is extremely localized and this doesn't sound like there will be lots of comps out there. For the facility I would want to understand total cost to create facility and reason for selling. For rent you will need to determine total payments (which will likely include a myriad of others if triple net) then look at trade off of return vs having ownership control of the real estate. The longer you can delay the expiration of purchase option the better. 5. Not my area of expertise but I would ensure I understand the story of the sellers. What was their vision and why are they selling. Sometimes the story is way important than the model. Feel free to reach out###-###-#### and we can discuss further.
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