Having been open for only 45 days, Little Rock Athletic Club’s (LRAC) Pickleball facility is already turning heads, both in aesthetics and management. Frank Lawrence, CEO at LRAC, gives us a glimpse of his story as he spearheaded the transition from temporary courts to permanent, and building a state-of-the-art pickleball facility from the ground up. This pickleball facility is a testament to LRAC’s dedication to providing members with diverse and engaging fitness options. With soaring demand for pickleball, LRAC aims to cater to both seasoned players and beginners looking to explore this rapidly growing sport. Key features of the new club include climate controlled courts, professional coaching services, modern amenities, social events, and membership benefits.
Pickleball Club Mag: How long has LRAC had a pickleball program with your temporary court situation?
Frank Lawrence: We began introducing Pickleball in late 2020. We shared the pickleball with our tennis courts. By early 2021 we began programming leagues, lessons, and activities for Pickleball.
PCM: Why did LRAC initially decide to include pickleball as one of its many amenities?
FR: It was a warm December evening in 2020, and I was headed to a Christmas Party by Country Club of Little Rock. On that warm December night, I heard “dink, dink, dink”, and people were playing Pickleball. I knew then we had to find a way to build a dedicated facility for pickleball. Our Tennis Program is our number one business, and at that moment, I believed Pickleball had the ability to be as big as tennis for the Club.
PCM: What were some signs you saw indicating it was time to establish permanent pickleball courts at the LRAC facility?
FR: Demand for Pickleball by our members was obvious, and once the city, and country clubs began investing in outdoor courts, I became committed to build an indoor facility for the region to support the growing demand of the Pickleball in the region. The indoor courts are the secret sauce that make the program go, because you can play the sport 365 days and have additional ways to monetize the sport.
PCM: What kind of feedback had LRAC received from members regarding the need for an expanded and permanent pickleball program at LRAC?
FR: The feedback was all positive, from both tennis players and pickleball players. Tennis players wanted their courts back, and pickleballers wanted their own courts!! It took little over 3 years to make the vision come to a reality, but once we announced construction in early spring of 2023, the excitement was palpable.
PCM: What kind of market research did LRAC do to determine the need for permanent courts in the Little Rock area?
FR: Most of the research was internal and among our members and local players in the region. We did not use any outside companies to do additional market research beyond what we already knew about our membership. We have significant persona data on our membership. We felt that the pickleball persona was not that different from many of our current personas.
PCM: Who were the decision makers at LRAC involved in deciding to move forward with permanent pickleball courts?
FR: This was truly my vision, and then I had to persuade my partners that this was the right place for us invest our capital. That process took several months as we worked on design and value engineering the construction cost. Fortunately, my partners saw my vision and agreed to build the building.
PCM: What roles did these decision makers play in doing research and preparing for the transition?
FR: It was all on me, beyond my business pitch to the partners. The pitch involved construction vision, budget and design. Beyond that, I built a proforma for our pickleball by taking our tennis business and making detailed adjustments to it to build a 5-10 year plan. I took our tennis model and rules, and that is what we are using to run the pickleball business for the club.
PCM: What were some of the first steps you took to begin the project to convert your temporary courts into permanent ones?
FR: Once I saw that there was significant investment in outdoor courts in the region, I knew had an opportunity to capture on the momentum of the sport if we could get our indoor courts built and opened. That is why our tennis business is successful, and I was making the same bet. We have great indoor tennis courts, and if built some great indoor pickleball courts, the players would come!
PCM: What kind of contractors is LRAC working with to complete the project?
FR: We have a great relationship with Grundfest Construction. From there we worked with them on specific aspects to the facility from courts to product selection. J Lawrence Design managed all things from flow to design details. And Fennell Purifoy architects worked with both to make sure the building was architecturally significant.
PCM: How did you get connected with these contractors?
FR: Long time relationship.
PCM: Can you please tell me about 2-3 obstacles your team has had to overcome to get this project off the ground and moving forward?
FR: Beyond the normal construction issues, the main obstacles were: 1) A brand new business unit and new market. So, I had to really paint the vision ourselves to our partners and staff to see the vision. 2) Building cost were rising rapidly because of covid, so we had to value engineer without sacrificing design, flow and player experience. That was really tough!! 3) We wanted to build the building without taking on new debt or writing new capital checks, so we really had to manage the main club operations and scrape the money together to make this large investment. That was a real financial feat as we managed Covid, being closed, and then recovering from being closed, while still serving our members and investing in the club in other areas.
PCM: What lessons have you learned from this experience?
FR: You can make a vision a reality if you focus on it and have a vision to get where you want to be.
PCM: What advice would you give to others in leadership at athletic clubs looking to embark on the journey from a temporary to permanent pickleball court situation?
FR: 1 ) invest in dedicated pickleball courts quickly. Sharing courts with tennis will only last for a few months before both groups become frustrated if you do not have long term plans to have dedicated courts. 2) try to build indoor courts, easier to monetize in different ways besides just membership growth. 3) have an “owner” of the business, a director that gets up every day thinking about how to make it better.
PCM: How will adding these permanent pickleball courts bring value to members at LRAC?
FR: We think it will be the 5th pillar to our business (see above press release). We think it can be as significant to the club as tennis, and tennis is our number one business. Lifetime Fitness is making the same bet, and makes me feel a little better about our bet!
PCM: Is there anything else you’d like to add about the topic?
FR: I think pickleball has a long runway in the coming years to be a very significant sport. A lot of people think that it may be a fad, and it may be, but it has many years to ride the wave of success. It has a significant infrastructure built from a professional level, and you’re seeing cities, and private institutions make significant investments in meeting the demand for courts. It’s a sport that is adaptable to all ages, and the barrier to entry as a user is low.
One question, I get a lot is, “how many courts should I build”? I am cyclist and in the cycling world we always say the correct number of bikes is N+1. So I think the correct number of pickleball courts is a least N+4!!
