Ben Johns and Anna Bright play pickleball at Penn 1’s new Life Time courts next to Madison Square Garden on May 4, 2024 in New York City.
Mike Staub | Getty Images
fitness for life It’s all about pickleball.
The commitment to America’s fastest-growing sport, one of the largest in the world, was made clear in New York City on Saturday highest ranking Pickleball player Ben Johns and former tennis superstar Andre Agassi are practicing hitting and pitching on Life Time’s brand new courts.
It’s part of the upscale fitness company’s strategy to grow its brand by investing in pickleball.
To continue to achieve this goal, Life Time announced Tuesday that it will partner with lululemon, naming the company the official apparel partner of Life Time pickleball and tennis. In addition to working together on major pickleball events, the partnership also includes online sales of Lululemon apparel at Life Time clubs.
“This partnership highlights the extraordinary growth of these sports and brings together the best athletic apparel with the best tennis and pickleball experiences,” said Celeste Burgoyne, Lululemon’s President of Guest Innovation Americas and Global.
Life Time was founded in 1992 and currently has more than 170 “sports country clubs” across the country.
As the fitness landscape evolves post-COVID, clubs like this are finding creative new ways to get America moving forward again. Life Time CEO and founder Bahram Akradi, himself an avid pickleball player, believes the popular, tennis-like sport will be the catalyst.
(LR) On May 4, Tyson McGuffin, Collin Johns, Life Time founder and CEO Bahram Akradi, Andr Andre Agassi, Anna Bright and Ben Johns pose for a photo at Penn 1’s new Life Time next to Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Mike Staub | Getty Images
“Pickleball is working. It’s always packed,” he told CNBC.
And it continues to grow. On Saturday, Life Time unveiled Manhattan’s largest indoor pickleball destination, just blocks from Penn Station. The 54,000-square-foot club, which features seven street-side pickleball courts, officially opened on April 15.
Akradi said the company has installed new playing surfaces or renovated tennis courts across the country and currently provides more than 700 pickleball courts nationwide. It has become the largest provider of permanent pickleball courts in the country.
Akradi estimates the company has invested $50 million to $100 million in Pickleball and brings in 6% to 7% of Life Time membership fees.
“It’s significant. It’s a big number,” he said.
Life Time also partners with professional pickleball, hosting nearly a dozen pickleball tournaments on company courts, some of which are even broadcast on national television. Take this week as an example, Atlanta Open, part of the PPA Tourthe Life Time competition will be held in Peachtree Corners, Georgia, with an expected attendance of 16,000 people.
Andre Agassi and Anna Bright play pickleball at Penn 1’s new Life Time courts next to Madison Square Garden on May 4, 2024 in New York City.
Mike Staub | Getty Images
Agassi recently took up pickleball, a lower-impact sport that put years of wear and tear on his body during his illustrious tennis career.
“I think no matter where we are now, the number of people playing the sport will increase 10-fold in the next five to seven years,” Agassi told CNBC. He said he thinks pickleball will be successful because it promotes healthy habits. , build a community, and have a low barrier to entry for beginners.
In February, Agassiz Lifetime Appointment As the first chairman of the company’s newly formed Pickleball and Tennis Board of Directors, he will be tasked with raising the sport’s profile, programs and leagues.
“I hope it grows in college and grows in the Olympics,” Agassi said.
Off the field, Life Time now offers the following advice top pickleball player johns. The company announced last month that he and his brother Collin will provide members with 70 instructional videos to help players take their game to the next level.
“We partnered with Life Time because they are very passionate about spreading pickleball and their members want to make it better,” Johns told CNBC.
Johns has seen the sport grow exponentially, saying his salary has increased 10-fold since 2021 as pickleball has secured more sponsors and media rights.
Life Time’s pickleball strategy is already paying off.
Although Life Time’s stock price fell by approximately 23% from March 2023 to March 2024, its first-quarter financial report showed that total revenue increased by US$85 million from March last year, and adjusted EBITDA increased by 20% Above, net membership increased by 38,000 members.
Analysts blame macro, balance sheet and interest rate-related concerns for recent stock market underperformance.
“We believe LTH remains the most undervalued story in our coverage and in the broader consumer space,” a Guggenheim analyst wrote on May 1.
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