Collier County Gets Own Pro Pickleball Team

Bob Strommen will most certainly be in his element during the 2023 Minto US Open Pickleball Championships. 

The Collier County resident is not just a dedicated recreational player. He’s also a passionate promoter of the racquet sport that’s exploding in popularity worldwide. In fact, in 2020, that enthusiasm fueled the entrepreneur’s decision to become managing partner of the international tournament’s home, the Naples Pickleball Center (NPC). 

Commonly described as a blend of tennis, ping-pong and badminton, pickleball is thought to be America’s fastest-growing sport. A Sports and Fitness Industry Association report found there were 4.8 million players in the United States in 2022. Participation in America is estimated to have grown by almost 40 percent between 2019 and 2021.

Most recently, Strommen’s enthusiasm has led him to be one of the founding team owners of the newly created National Pickleball League. Dubbed Naples JBB United, the team will be based at the NPC. The name honors the legacies of Joel Pritchard, Barney McCallum and Bill Bell, who created pickleball in 1965 on Bainbridge Island, Washington. 

The NPL, a professional league for those 50-and-above, will provide an alternative to Major League Pickleball, which is for younger players. 

“It’s a natural evolution of the game that allowed for the continual involvement of the more established, senior players that really made the game what it is today and to honor the legacy of the game,” Strommen said. “In the early decades, seniors grew the sport, and being tied to NPL and its (age) 50-plus champions is the perfect combination to highlight the past and bring on the future fun.” 

The NPL will include six teams located nationwide, vying for $100,000 in total prize money for the season, which begins in June. For the debut season, matches will be held at Chicken-N-Pickle locations. The company operates a chain of mid-South, indoor-outdoor entertainment complexes that include a restaurant and sports bar and feature covered pickleball courts.

Covered courts help ensure that weather isn’t a factor in the contests during the NPL’s debut season, explained Strommen. “That will evolve so that eventually, each owner will have their own location,” he added. “We just have to make sure the first year’s successful, and the best way is to make sure there are no rainouts.”

With 66 courts at East Naples Community Park and 14 at Veterans Community Park, the NPC bills itself as being the world’s largest dedicated pickleball facility in one location and the “Pickleball Capital of the World,” a tagline Strommen has trademarked.

Owned by Collier County, the NPC has facilities and programs for its 2,250 members and roughly 15,000 annual visitors from around the globe. Amenities include pickleball lessons, open play and a pro shop. 

Known as the “Biggest Pickleball Party in the World,” the US Open is set for April 15 through April 22. The tourney attracted 3,000 amateur and professional players from around the world, and 35,000 attendees in 2022. This year’s version will, for the first time, have players from all 50 states as well as 29 different countries, ranging in age from eight to 88. They’ll be competing for a tournament- record prize purse of $125,000.

Strommen is the owner of two St. Paul, Minneapolis-based companies: Strommen and Associates, a financial services firm, and CheckPoints Consulting. He’s an author and speaker, as well as a former high school soccer coach. 

He said those backgrounds have provided experience in program development. Regarding the NPC, that ability enabled him to see “opportunities to grow a business that will serve constituents who want to take advantage of the business and its services,” he explained. “I just fell in love with the game, and I also found, being entrepreneurial, that if done right, this was a real opportunity to have a bunch of fun.” 

For more information about Naples Pickleball Center, visit https://naplespickleballcenter.info/ or call 319-8640. For details about the National Pickleball League, visit nplpickleball.com. East Naples Community Park pickleball campus is located at 3500 Thomasson Drive, Naples.