Sportime Randall’s Island Named Private/Commercial Club of the Year by Racquet Sports Industry (RSI) - RSI’s Annual Champions of Tennis Awards Honor Excellence in the Industry 

New York, NY (January 13, 2024) – Sportime Randall’s Island, a premier tennis and pickleball facility located on Randall’s Island in New York City, has been named the Private/Commercial Club of the Year by Racquet Sports Industry.

This recognition celebrates Sportime Randall’s Island’s commitment to excellence in facilities, programming, community engagement and innovation in the racquet sports industry. Located in Randall’s Island Park in Manhattan, the facility, which Sportime constructed in 2009 at a cost of over $20 million, just underwent a $50+ million expansion and renovation. Spanning more than 260,000 square feet, Sportime Randall’s Island includes 29 hard and soft-surface tennis courts in climate-controlled buildings and year-round and seasonal air structures, making it the largest indoor tennis facility in the world. The club also features six dedicated pickleball courts, four dedicated U10 courts, an athletic training center for group and private sport-specific training, a full service café, a well-stocked pro shop, flexible event spaces, locker rooms, and multiple, beautiful lobbies and lounges.

As the flagship location of the John McEnroe Tennis Academy (JMTA), Sportime Randall’s Island is shaping the next generation of elite junior players. JMTA consistently produces a high percentage of national championship competitors, with many players earning scholarships to play tennis at prestigious colleges and universities, including Ivy League institutions and top NCAA programs. 

Sportime Randall’s Island, in partnership with the Johnny Mac Tennis Project (JMTP), a nonprofit organization founded by tennis icon John McEnroe in 2012 to break down economic, racial and social barriers through tennis, delivers free weekly tennis programs to more than 4,000 participants each year: young people from some of NYC’s most under-resourced communities. Since 2012, more than $10.7 million has been awarded in scholarships to youth who lack the financial means to pursue tennis at the highest levels, providing them with the opportunity to chase their tennis dreams and change their lives.

“We’re thrilled that Sportime Randall’s Island has been named Facility of the Year by Racquet Sports Industry,” says Claude Okin, President and CEO of Sportime. “As a lifelong New Yorker, who learned to play tennis in NYC parks, creating this one-of-a-kind, urban tennis hub, in the city that we love, has been a passion project and a dream come true. We are very proud of our flagship facility, not just because it is a great business, with a great future, and has burnished our Company’s legacy in NYC, but because of the impact that its programs, along with our charitable efforts in NYC, have made, and will continue to make, in the lives of NYC kids.”

Sportime Randall’s Island is open 365 days a year and offers instructional and competitive tennis, pickleball and athletic training programs, including JMTA, as well as summer and school-break training camps, for juniors and adults of all ages and levels, provided by its team of world-class directors and coaches. In addition to private and group instruction, seasonal and hourly court rentals are available. 

About Sportime

Since 1994, Sportime has been proud to operate the finest tennis and sports facilities in New York State. Sportime’s 15 club locations most recently expanded to include the iconic Port Washington Tennis Academy, now Sportime Port Washington. Sportime currently offers 192 indoor and outdoor tennis courts and 70 pickleball courts, as well as rinks, turf, camps, gyms and more, at sites across Long Island, in NYC, in Westchester and in the NY Capital Region. Sportime clubs are state-of-the-art, yet affordable, and feature the best tennis, pickleball, sports and camp facilities and programs, including the John McEnroe Tennis Academy (JMTA) and Sportime Volleyball Club (VBC). Sportime clubs serve individuals of every age and athletic ability, 365 days a year. Learn more: www.sportimeny.com.

News Coverage:

• City Biz - https://www.citybiz.co/article/648588/sportime-randalls-island-named-private-commercial-club-of-the-year-by-racquet-sports-industry/ 
• AP - https://apnews.com/press-release/ein-presswire-newsmatics/john-mcenroe-new-york-city-iceland-tennis-f27ca83451f660f3301e1c01f6939433 
   

The USTA Eastern honors those who have made remarkable contributions toward growing and promoting tennis at the grassroots level. The recognize Individuals and organizations that demonstrated what makes the Eastern section so unique and innovative. Please join us in congratulating our Executive Director of Tennis, SPORTIME Clubs, Mike Barrell, for receiving the Clinician of the Year for 2024.

For a full list of winners, click here. Congratulations Mike!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Sportime Pickleball Expands to Yorktown Heights 
with 30,000-Square-Foot Facility
Opening Fall 2025, State-of-the-Art Facility to Feature 12 Indoor Courts, 
Pro Shop, Lounge, and More

Yorktown, NY (November 19, 2024)—Sportime Pickleball, a leading pickleball club operator in the Northeast, has secured a long-term lease in the Yorktown Green Shopping Center to open a 30,000 square-foot pickleball center offering 12 dedicated, indoor pickleball courts, two party rooms, a lounge, and a fully stocked pro shop. Scheduled to open in fall 2025, Sportime Pickleball’s state-of-the-art facility will provide a range of services, including court-rentals, level-rated open play sessions, group and private instruction and clinics, tournaments, and special events, and a junior academy dedicated to training the next generation of pickleball players. The company will begin actively hiring a team of professionals, including a General Manager and a Director of Pickleball, starting in spring 2025.

Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the country, having grown 51.8% from 2022 to 2023, and 223.5% since 2020, according to The Sports & Fitness Industry Association. The sport enjoys strong event attendance and TV viewership, with USA Pickleball reporting that 50,000 people attended and 2.6 million people watched the 2023 National Pickleball Championships.

Sportime Pickleball’s expansion to Yorktown is part of the company’s plan to create and program 200 dedicated, indoor pickleball courts in the tri-state area by 2030, with the goal of being the leading pickleball provider in the Northeast, a market position that the parent company, Sportime Clubs, holds in tennis. Sportime Pickleball has new sites currently under construction in Westbury, New York (opening January 2025), Englewood, New Jersey (opening January 2025), Wayne, NJ (opening spring 2025), and Armonk, New York (opening fall 2025).

“We are excited to bring a state-of-the-art, dedicated pickleball facility to the Yorktown Heights community,” said Claude Okin, President & CEO of Sportime. “We know that local interest in the sport is already robust in the Yorktown area. Our new center will offer players of all levels a convenient way to learn and play pickleball at a beautiful facility in a convenient and popular location.”

Yorktown Green Shopping Center is anchored by major retailers, including Uncle Giuseppe’s, TJ Maxx, Five Below, and Michael's. Daren Hornig, principal and head of real estate at Sportime Pickleball, explains, “We selected this busy and successful retail location because of the high volume of traffic, which will further support the facility’s use and success. We also believe that Sportime Pickleball will be a great asset to the center.”

Hornig negotiated the Yorktown Center lease for Sportime Pickleball, along with Brian Ripka from RIPCO Real Estate, while Curtis Nassau of RIPCO Real Estate represented the landlord, Oster Properties.

For more information on Sportime Pickleball’s facilities and offerings, email pickleball@sportimeny.com.  To stay updated on the Yorktown location’s opening, please join our email list by clicking here.

In the news:

• Daily Voice - 11/22/24 - Click to read.
• Westfair Business Journal - Click to read.
• Associated Press - 11/19/24 - Click to read.
• REB Business Online - 12/12/24 - Click to read.