As a pickleball club looking to diversify your streams of income, opening yourself up to hosting private events at your club can be a beneficial strategy to bringing new people through your doors and increasing your bottom line. The possibilities are truly endless in terms of what kind of events you can host within your facility, especially considering the growing popularity of the sport among all generations.
A premier pickleball facility located in Encinitas, California, Bobby Riggs Racquet and Paddle Club seeks to provide top-notch pickleball programming for players of all skill levels. As a public club, they are intent on creating an approachable environment for anyone looking for a pickleball home and enjoy introducing people to the sport through various private events hosted at the facility. They have chosen to host private events as a way to “offer a unique and exclusive experience for individuals, groups, and organizations” in the community, says Callan Dawson, owner of Bobby Riggs Racquet and Paddle Club.
One of their primary missions as a club is to “promot[e] pickleball and provid[e] a welcoming and inclusive environment for all players,” making private events an ideal add-on feature to their regular pickleball programming that perfectly aligns with the club’s goals. Making the club available to a wider audience, some of whom may have never thought they would be at a pickleball club, offers a unique opportunity for Bobby Riggs Racquet and Paddle Club to introduce individuals to the game in a non-intimidating manner. Further, these events create new promotional channels and help increase the club’s visibility in the Encinitas area. Private events give the club’s staff an outlet to welcome new community members into the club and often create recurring business through impressions made during the events. Dawson is a proponent of hosting events at the facility because it helps build “stronger connections within the pickleball community in Encinitas.” Through private events, Bobby Riggs Racquet and Paddle Club gets to share their passion for pickleball with those both familiar and unfamiliar with the sport.
Specifically, the club hosts many corporate team-building events, birthday parties, various social gatherings, charity fundraisers, and a plethora of other types of private events. They “strive to accommodate the specific needs and preferences of [their] clients to ensure a memorable and enjoyable experience for all attendees.” Understanding the particular vision for the event and being able to execute it goes a long way with creating recurring business for the club.
Bobby Riggs Racquet and Paddle Club prides themselves on providing a “seamless and hassle-free experience” for those hosting and participating in events at their facility. For groups interested in hosting an event at the club, the staff handles all of the scheduling arrangements and offers a wide range of additional features that enhance an event experience. Their coaches and event planners make themselves available to “coordinate and oversee [the] event, ensuring a smooth and enjoyable experience for all.” Moreover, they work with their own catering service to provide food options that complement the event.
One feature that can elevate any event at Bobby Riggs Racquet and Paddle Club is the presence of pickleball coaches to provide lessons and individualized coaching to event attendees. “This allows guests to enhance their pickleball skills and make the most of their event experience.” During any private event hosted at Bobby Riggs Racquet and Paddle Club, participants can use the club’s paddles free of charge and are able to purchase balls at $3 per ball.
Certainly, it is unavoidable that hosting an event at your club may result in minor and temporary interruptions to regular club operations. A key to successfully executing an event during standard club hours is paying attention to the details and making sure to account for the additional activity within the facility from an operations perspective. Dawson says they “make every effort to minimize disruptions and ensure [their] regular guests can still enjoy their pickleball activities during these events.”
In addition to potentially creating new business from event attendees who want to come back to the club for other pickleball activities, private events offer a great opportunity for recurring business through the events themselves. Bobby Riggs Racquet and Paddle Club has “established ongoing relationships with several companies and organizations that regularly host corporate events” at the facility. While providing consistent business for the club, these events also allow “companies and organizations to enjoy a unique and fun-filled event experience.” As these relationships are created between a club and local businesses and organizations, the logistics of hosting the event can become more seamless as each party learns the other’s modus operandi and expectations, making for an even more productive partnership on both sides.
Offering private events at your club gives the club a fantastic opportunity to ingratiate themselves with the community and show locals that your club is more than a place for serious pickleball players and can also be a place for casual, recreational activity. Dawson appreciates that private events gives Bobby Riggs Racquet and Paddle Club an opportunity to “actively contribute to the community…[by] engag[ing] with local businesses, schools, and nonprofit organizations to host fundraisers, team-building events, and other community focused initiatives.” This can not only increase your club’s visibility within the community and create additional revenue, but also strengthens your club’s ties within the community.
For club owners looking to start hosting private events at their clubs, Dawson recommends that the leadership should “carefully plan and understand the specific needs and preferences of your target audience.” This can be a difference maker in whether or not the event is executed well and creates a positive lasting impression on participants.
Private events offer pickleball clubs a wonderful way to efficiently bring in additional revenue streams outside of regular membership and programming fees and can have consequential benefits such as creating deep connections within the community. Any club interested in growing their business and finding new ways to bring people through their doors should surely consider hosting events at their facility.
