Springdale pickleball project on track for spring groundbreaking

A $50 million pickleball development planned for southeast of Interstate 49 and Elm Springs Road in Springdale is projected to attract 25,000 to 30,000 tourists to the state each year, a project leader said.

The project’s 70,000-square-foot facility will include an approximately 900-seat center court for tournaments and events.

Center court will be one of five show courts among the 23 indoor pickleball courts included in the facility as part of The Big Dill Pickleball Club & Academy. It will also have 30 outdoor pickleball courts, a bar, pro shop, restaurant, and other retail and commercial space.

A partnership group comprising Northwest Arkansas and Arkansas residents plans to break ground on the development this spring. Arkansas native Reggie Brasfield is founder and partner.

Terrafirma Construction in Rogers is the general contractor. Keith Wheeler of Fugitt and Associates in Fayetteville is the architect. Phil Swope, principal engineer for Swope Engineering in Rogers, is the engineer. The legal team comprises Eldridge Brooks Partners in Rogers. The project also received support from the Arkansas Small Business and Technology Development Center at the University of Arkansas.

“Reggie, his vision for this project was that it would be one of the nation’s greatest pickleball facilities and that it would attract people from all over the country to come and compete,” Wheeler said. “He has a vision that it will be hopefully used – as high schools and colleges adopt pickleball as a sport that they compete in – to support those local communities. With that, it should be drawing a significant amount of people to the area and will set a bar for what everyone else needs to do to keep up when pickleball inevitably becomes a mainstay sport with high school and collegiate athletics.”

Wheeler started work on the project in October 2023 and has been responsible for its design and renderings. Swope said he started engineering work in fall 2023 and has been responsible for the site work or everything outside the building. Wheeler said the project’s permit set of documents are completed, and he plans to be retained for construction administration as the project is developed.

“It should be huge,” Swope said. “That’s an area that’s ripe for development. They’ve got the new Emma [Avenue]through there that’s going to open things up … and easy access off of Huntsville [Avenue] … It’s going to be a real regional draw or bigger.

“The vision is to get complementary developments around it, so people aren’t having to leave the area. They can go to pickleball, get a drink or dinner — hopefully [there’s] housing around it too,” Swope added. “It’s a great first project to show that people are serious about that area.”

PROJECT DETAILS
The 12-acre development will be on the north side of Emma Avenue, east of 40th Street. It’s expected to open by the first quarter of 2026.

Other phases of the overall $100 million to $150 million project include nearby multifamily related to the project’s on-site training academy. Land for the multifamily housing has yet to be purchased but is expected to be in Springdale. The housing would be available for those in and out of the area, including families. Brasfield noted this phase could come in the next three to five years but might be sooner. He said the multifamily may also support housing area needs.

“There’s no specifics that we have now, and that’s because the focus right now is the actual facility,” he said. “These are things that we plan on being part of the growth and the scaling … We’re going to add those things to make a full campus.”

Brasfield said the partnership group is working with area investors who want to “bring to life” the development.

“We’re also talking to businessmen and women who are both in and not in the sport of pickleball who would love to see this sport grow, and then the partners ourselves, we’re investing both time and finances into it. So that’s kind of that three-legged stool approach of local and domestic investors, local and domestic experts and then the investor project partnership group.”

The partnership group aims to have Northwest Arkansas investors back the project and that a potential investor outside the area might support it. Still, a Northwest Arkansas supporter connected them to the potential investor.

“We’re really looking for this to be done from the home team and the home team to all win big,” he said. “This is all about the success of the team, and that team starts at home.”

Brasfield said the development has been approved for a state tax incentive, which gives tax breaks and employee tax credits for projects that contribute to tourism. He noted that the development is projected to draw between 25,000 and 30,000 tourists annually.

TECHNOLOGY, AMENITIES
The new pickleball facility is expected to offer live streaming capabilities and player performance tools to help players improve their skills. He said the tools will be a standard to assist players who want to compete and for youth training.

Members can receive video access for replay and training feedback through technology in the facility “to really make it next level,” Brasfield said. Pickleball-related art will also be included in the new facility.

The commercial space along Emma Avenue will be available for area businesses “that complement the sport but also add value to the community and would serve for not only the local people but the large amount of tourists … we’re going to bring in for tournaments and events,” he said. “We want to make sure some of our local entrepreneurs are given the opportunity to have a space that allows that. And we do want some entertainment space.”

The plan for the commercial space includes retail, entertainment, and health and wellness uses such as a small gym. The entertainment space might consist of a small stage where people can go for entertainment throughout the week.

“We want to create that space that mom can come to with her kids or mom and dad can come to together,” he said. “They can enjoy this space even if they’re not pickleball players. We want to create an experience for people to … enjoy Springdale and Northwest Arkansas and all its amenities.”

Brasfield said the partnership group looks to develop the space on Emma Avenue along with the project’s first phase.

PARTNERSHIP BACKGROUND
A Gould [Lincoln County] native, Brasfield attended the University of the Ozarks in Clarksville and played tennis and basketball there. He was a member of the minority business affairs and student foundation.

“I was heavily involved in both academics and athletics,” he said. “I moved here in 2004 to work for Walmart corporate. Now, I support Walmart as a supplier. I led teams from large CPG companies, Dr Pepper Snapple, Element [Electronics], and Philips Norelco — 20 years of experience in that space.”

He also launched the Northwest Arkansas-based educational nonprofit Voice of Diversity in 2013, and in 2016, started radio station KDIV 98.7-FM, which is focused on community engagement, youth and area challenges. Brasfield said he’s played pickleball for five years and was introduced to the sport during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He said that the other members of the partnership group comprise two entrepreneurs, one in the hospitality industry, another in the development and construction industry, and another who works in the “federal space” but resides in Arkansas. The other group members live in Northwest Arkansas.