One of the newest owners of a professional team is basketball player and King of the Court, James.
Draymond Green and Kevin Love are two of the NBA players who will join the ownership of Major League Pickleball. The sport has become a big business due to its popularity.
Over the past couple of years, the all-star ownership group has been playing together.
Carter told CNBC that he immediately connected with the sport's community when he first started playing it. We are looking forward to bringing our expertise together to try and build a championship team, and seeing the sport grow in communities all over is really exciting.
The team will be owned by James and Carter. Paul Rivera, chief marketing officer of the SpringHill Co., is also an investor.
The deal's financial terms were not made public.
The new ownership group met with Anne Worcester at the U.S. Open tennis tournament in August.
They had a connection with us over their passion for playing pickleball. She said that they bring a lot of experience to sports marketing.
More than 60 groups are interested in owning a pickleball team, according to Worcester. She said team values have doubled since the league started.
The location of James and Carter's team isn't yet known. The league is trying to find a way to connect the teams to geographic locations in 2023.
James has helped drive economic development in his hometown. The students at the I Promise School will attend the finale of the MLP season in Columbus, Ohio, in October. The purse is the largest in the sport's history.
A mix of tennis, ping-Pong and badminton has become a hit and attracted major investments as entrepreneurs look to cash in on the game.
A new round of investments was announced in July by the company.
With the new investments, the number of teams will increase from 12 to 16 and players will compete in six tournaments across six U.S. cities for more than $2 million in prizes.
Outside of the league, the sport is getting funding. There are at least 15 indoor pickleball private clubs that have been built by the McCarthys.
The chain model is being invested in by others. There will be a restaurant, bar, and indoor and outdoor pickleball courts in 10 locations by the year 2026. There are similar concepts like Chicken N Pickle.
According to the report, the sport will grow to over 4 million players in the US in 2021.
The founder of MLP said that pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the country.
The league's newest investors will help the sport reach its goal of 40 million players by the year 2030.
There is no rule that would stop James from playing. One of the owners of the Florida Smash team is a retired professional tennis player, and he was drafted by his own team.
We would be happy if Draymond or Kevin Love thought about playing.
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