UPA Plans $150-200M Capital Raise to Build Vertically Integrated Pickleball Platform

The United Pickleball Association is in early stages of raising $150-200 million to merge professional leagues with commerce, software, and facilities assets

The United Pickleball Association (UPA), parent company of the PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball, is planning to raise between $150-200 million in new capital to create what would become pickleball's first vertically integrated platform, according to a report by sports business analyst Joe Pompliano.

The fundraising plans come on the heels of record viewership for professional pickleball. Last month, the Carvana PPA Masters Championship averaged 791,000 viewers on CBS — making it the most-watched pickleball event in history and outperforming an NBA game on Amazon Prime (528,000 viewers), Big 12 Women's basketball on FOX (677,000), and Premier League soccer on USA Network (451,000) in the same time slot.

What's Being Proposed

Rather than simply raising capital for the existing pro leagues, sources tell Pompliano that UPA plans to merge with Pickleball Inc. and other related pickleball assets owned by billionaire Tom Dundon. This would create a single holding company that spans the entire pickleball ecosystem.

The combined entity would include:

• Professional leagues: PPA Tour and Major League Pickleball
• Ecommerce: Pickleball Central, the leading online pickleball retailer
• Software: Pickleball Play Solutions for tournament registration and facility management
• Construction: Just Courts Construction for court building
• Facilities: Minority stake in Picklr, the largest franchise operator of pickleball facilities
• Data: Minority stake in DUPR, the global pickleball ratings platform

The Numbers

UPA's current financial performance shows strong growth:

• 2024 revenue: $47 million
• 2025 revenue: $64 million (+36% YoY)
• 2026 projected revenue: $81 million
• Tournament attendance: 300,000+ across PPA and MLP events in 2025
• Ticket sales: $10 million in 2025

When combined with Dundon's other pickleball assets, the new platform would generate approximately $140 million in annual revenue from sponsorships, media rights, ticketing, tournament registrations, ecommerce, real estate, and software.

Current valuation estimates place UPA alone at $570-650 million based on a 7-8x revenue multiple. The combined entity is expected to raise the $150-200 million at an enterprise value near or exceeding $800 million.

Reactions Across Sports

Some big personalities, like Bill Simmons, are already weighing in.

Revenue Breakdown

UPA's current revenue comes from several sources:

• Sponsorships: ~$30 million (including multi-year DoorDash deal)
• Ticket sales: $10+ million from 300,000+ attendees
• Media rights: Growing broadcast partnerships
• Amateur tournaments: Additional revenue from 27,000+ amateur participants

The UPA World Championships alone generated $4 million in revenue, demonstrating the potential for flagship tentpole events.

The Dundon Connection

Tom Dundon, owner of the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes and soon the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers, has been systematically building his pickleball portfolio since 2021. His private equity firm, Dundon Capital Partners, is UPA's largest shareholder.

Dundon's acquisition timeline:

• 2021: Acquired majority stake in Pickleball Central and PickleballTournaments.com
• 2022: Acquired the PPA Tour
• 2024: PPA merged with MLP to form UPA (backed by $75M investment)

Because Dundon is the largest shareholder in both UPA and the owner of Pickleball Inc., he's uniquely positioned to facilitate the merger of these separate entities.

What This Means for Pickleball

The proposed structure would transform pickleball from a collection of separate businesses into an integrated platform that touches players at every point:

For recreational players: A seamless experience from buying equipment online to registering for tournaments to playing at dedicated facilities — all within the same ecosystem.

For the sport: The ability to scale infrastructure, improve production quality, create a consistent event calendar, and build the sport more strategically than fragmented competitors.

For investors: A different investment thesis. Rather than betting solely on a professional sports league, investors would be buying into a platform that captures revenue across the entire pickleball value chain.

Path to Profitability

According to Pompliano's sources, the fundraising pitch includes:

• Using proceeds to pay down existing UPA debt
• Adding fresh capital for growth initiatives
• Path to breakeven in 2027
• Potential to reach $100 million in EBITDA by 2030

Industry Context

Pickleball remains America's fastest-growing sport with approximately 19.8 million players in the United States. At current growth rates, pickleball is on track to become the country's fourth most popular sport by year-end — surpassing baseball (17.3 million participants) and soccer (20.4 million), though still behind tennis (25.7 million), basketball (31.9 million), and golf (42.7 million).

This growth has created opportunities at both the professional and grassroots levels, with multiple competing tours, leagues, equipment manufacturers, and facility operators all vying for market share.

What Happens Next

The capital raise is still in early stages, with terms and structure continuing to evolve. The final structure of the combined entity, timing of the transaction, and ultimate valuation will depend on investor appetite and market conditions.

For UPA and professional pickleball, the success of this fundraising effort could determine whether the sport develops through a unified platform or continues with competing organizations serving different parts of the ecosystem.

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