The Fort, a pickleball stadium and entertainment complex touted by its developer as the first of its kind, is nearing completion in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Set to open later this month, The Fort is designed to offer 43 pickleball courts, four grandstands and room for up to 2,000 spectators. About 21 miles north of Miami, the facility at 891 SW 34 St. will serve as the official headquarters and training facility for the Association of Pickleball Players and include membership options, day passes and a full-service restaurant, according to a statement.
The nearly $25 million project is coming to fruition as part of a public-private partnership between Fort Lauderdale and the developer, My Park Initiative. The company funded most of the development on 10 acres of city-owned land at Snyder Park, according to Fort Lauderdale city commission documents.
Pickleball, a hybrid of tennis and Ping Pong, has exploded in popularity over the past few years. According to the 2023 figures from the Association of Pickleball Players, 48.3 million Americans — 19% of the country's adult population — have played the sport.
The demand for the sport presented a unique opportunity for Conway, Arkansas-based Centennial Bank to provide My Park Initiative, founded by Jeff Roschman and Brad Tuckman, with a $7 million construction loan for the final stretch of the project.
David Druey, Centennial Bank’s Florida regional president, told CoStar News that the developers had started construction by the time the loan was approved, expedited by an existing relationship between the bank and a previous venture of Roschman’s, a tennis and pickleball equipment manufacturer named Diadem Sports.
Though the developers are touting the project as the world’s first dedicated pickleball stadium, Druey acknowledged the bank has financed projects across the country that include the nascent sport.
“We're in Texas, Florida [and] Alabama, and we have loan production offices in New York and California. Every area is seeing exponential growth in pickleball," Druey said.
Camila Giraldo, a loan origination officer for Centennial Bank that worked alongside Druey on the deal, told CoStar News she has seen how popular pickleball has become at tennis facilities across Florida.
“I’ve seen how this sport has grown in the last four or five years at all the tennis facilities that I go to,” Giraldo said.
The complex will include advanced technology for live-streaming matches, instant replays and coaching analysis, according to the statement.
Under terms of the partnership with Fort Lauderdale that were approved in November 2022, My Park Initiative and the city will split revenue from The Fort with the developer expected to lead operations for the next 50 years.
For the record
Miller Construction is the general contractor for The Fort that was designed by Architectural Alliance Architecture. Architectural Alliance Landscape is in charge of landscaping. Brizaga is the owner's representative. Accord Engineering is the structural engineer, and WGI is the civil and planning engineer.