Ballers, a sports venue and exclusive members’ club, has closed on $20M of funding and plans to open more than 50 locations within the next 10 years.
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The Series A round was led by sports and entertainment investment firms Sharp Alpha and RHC Group alongside a group of professional athletes like tennis players Andre Agassi, Kim Clijsters and Sloane Stephens; pickleball player Connor Garnett; Major League Soccer Maarten Paes, a goalkeeper for FC Dallas; and Philadelphia 76ers owner David Blitzer, according to an announcement by the company.
The social club plans to build multisport complexes with spaces for racquet sports such as pickleball and padel as well as soccer turfs and golf simulators. In addition, the facilities will include community spaces, restaurants and bars, according to the company.
Membership at the clubs cost between $99 and $499 and includes access to locker rooms and recovery amenities like saunas, cold plunges and compression therapy. Non-members can also book the spaces and courts.
The funding comes as Ballers is slated to open its 55K SF Philadelphia flagship in July and a 30K SF location in Boston’s Seaport in August. It plans to open another venue near Miami’s downtown by the first quarter of 2026.
Ballers now has a $30M launch pipeline. The company wants to further expand to other key markets, including Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Connecticut, Toronto and Washington, D.C., according to the release.
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Ballers was founded by Good City Studio’s David Gutstadt and Amanda Potter alongside Daniel Bassichis of Vero Capital. Gutstadt and Potter formerly worked for Equinox as chief investment officer of hotels and director of planning, respectively.
Ballers has also tapped chef and Collective Hospitality founding partner Mitch Prensky to develop its dining offerings.
The company is taking off as racquet sports dominate retail and amenity spaces. Operators like The Picklr and Pinstripes have rapidly expanded as pickleball concepts have gobbled up stores abandoned by big-box retailers among other spaces.
Other "retailtainment" businesses centered around sports have similarly captured the interest — and dollars — of consumers. Cosm, an entertainment venue that immerses patrons in games through the use of massive dome screens, was valued at more than $1B during a funding round last year. It plans to open in at least 10 U.S. cities in the coming years.
"Consumers are prioritizing meaningful shared experiences and lasting connections," Sharp Alpha Managing Partner Lloyd Danzig said in a statement. "Competition is the fastest-growing centerpiece for socialization. Modern urban country clubs sit right at the intersection of these trends. We are excited to back the veteran team behind Ballers at this important inflection point."
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