TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Pickleball is growing in popularity across the Tampa Bay area, but now, dozens of customers of a not-yet-opened indoor pickleball business say they paid membership deposits, only to find that the company has disconnected its phone line.
Many called 8 On Your Side’s Better Call Behnken for help getting answers.
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From the outside, Divine Iron Gym — located inside the former Dick’s Sporting Goods space at WestShore Plaza — appears ready to open.
Workout equipment is visible through the windows, and upstairs is advertised to be “Division 1 Pickleball,” a space with indoor courts for members who pay a monthly fee.
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Janice Fisher said she and at least 20 others in her pickleball circle jumped at the chance to lock in discounted fees and play out of the sun. She said playing outside over the summer was brutal, and the location along Westshore Boulevard was centrally located to many who live and work in neighboring communities.
“Between the rain and the heat, it was bad,” Fisher said. ” So who wouldn’t want to go for $79 a month indoors?”
Debbie Cagnina said she and her pickleball group, dozens of people, responded to social media advertisements in June and took advantage of an offer for the first 100 customers to lock in a $75 monthly rate.
The company’s Instagram page currently lists memberships at $109 a month. Cagnina said some members also secured deals for the gym.
“Supposedly somewhere, I believe it was upstairs, there was going to be 12 indoor pickleball courts,” Cagnina said. “If you go to their Instagram page, they are actually showing construction and giving you a timeline of how everything is going in there, so it looks totally legitimate.”
But now, she said, it’s unclear whether the facility will ever open. After several delays, communication has stopped, and phone numbers have been disconnected.
“In October was the last email we all received, and they said they were dealing with permitting issues and were waiting for their fire marshal’s supervisor,” Cagnina said. “They were saying all the right things to kind of keep you strung along to see if they were going to open or not.”
State records show that both Divine Iron Holdings LLC and Division 1 Pickleball LLC filed to dissolve on Nov. 21. Owner Luis Valero listed “ran out of funding and difficulty opening” as the reason.
Meanwhile, Fisher urged customers to dispute charges with their credit card companies.
“They were able to give me my money back, and I blocked any further payments,” she said. “Unfortunately, some other people weren’t as lucky. But yeah, I don’t think we’ll ever see that money. I think it went into the gym, which I think was their main focus.”
Behnken reached company owner Luis Valero by phone, and he said he assures me he plans to return membership money.
He said members will receive an email Friday morning with options to get your money back or transfer memberships to another gym.
He said his business plan ran into trouble with permitting issues with the city.
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