Racquet sports are talk of the town. From the release of Luca Guadagnino's sport romance Challengers last year, to a summer of Wimbledon to the wind down of the US Open last week, there's been enough tennis and tennis-adjacent news to make virtually anyone want to serve an ace.
The craze has hit Philadelphia in earnest, with a new athletic hotspot making its debut in the City of Brotherly Love this week. Located within a once-abandoned 1928 power station designed by architect John T. Windrim, Ballers merges sports (predominantly tennis and padel), wellness, and hospitality in an amalgam the club terms 'social sports.'
The new venue, founded by David Gutstadt and Amanda Potter, veterans of Equinox Hotels, is a contemporary reimagination of the country club for urban areas, and is funded by a roster of investors including tennis legends Andre Agassi and Sloane Stephens, among others.
‘Having played tennis in college, racquet sports have always been a passion of mine. So when we saw the opportunity to marry the powerful trend and innovations in urban social sports with our expertise in design and community-building, we went all in on Ballers,’ says Gutstadt.
Within the 55,000-sq-ft building are six pickleball courts, three padel courts, two squash courts, a turf field, golf simulators and a putting green. However, Ballers offers more than just courts. Inside, members can also find dedicated recovery spaces that are equipped with saunas, cold plunges and compression therapy, alongside post-workout dining (shaped by award winning chef Mitch Prensky), and social events, like guest chef series and live music.
The design was conceived by Philadelphia-based hospitality firm Good City Studio, also founded by Potter, and investment firm Vero Capital. Industrial minimalism is the name of the game, with adaptive reuse of the site's historic spaces. Exposed masonry, raw concrete and eclectic furnishings like Moroccan rugs and Versace-inspired neon shelving creates a warm and inviting atmosphere. Placed around the building are images of the building's former life as a power station.
Potter also worked with local artists such as Tiff Urquehart who created a bold graffiti mural. Given the site’s history, it marks a lovely contrast between past and present. Finally, the building’s industrial bones are illuminated by bespoke lighting by Flos, adding dramatic ambiance.
Potter wanted to create a more ‘personal’ well-being space, with a broader mission in mind: ‘Ballers is more than a sports facility – we’re merging sport and culture, creating a social hub for fashion, art and community,’ she says.
Even though Philadelphia marks its flagship location, there will likely be a Ballers in a metropolitan area near you very soon. In the next decade the company wants to open 50 locations across the US (Locations are in the works in Boston, Miami and Los Angeles).
Given the epic nature of the space and the expanding love of the game, we reckon the concept is game, set and match.
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