{"id":115480,"date":"2026-01-12T20:33:06","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T20:33:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/115480\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T20:33:06","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T20:33:06","slug":"st-pete-athletics-opening-benefits-the-surrounding-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/115480\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Pete Athletic\u2019s opening benefits the surrounding area"},"content":{"rendered":"

City leaders, top-ranked pickleball pros and dozens of local stakeholders celebrated St. Pete Athletic formally opening to the public Saturday. However, the self-billed urban country club\u2019s<\/a> impact extends far beyond the facility.<\/p>\n

The 50,000-square-foot social and paddle club replaced a long-vacant warehouse at 680 28th St. S. Mayor Ken Welch noted that the South St. Petersburg Community Redevelopment Area (CRA) would directly benefit from a significant increase in property tax collections.<\/p>\n

St. Pete Athletic (SPA<\/a>) also employs 90 people and will host a nationally televised pickleball tournament in June. Welch, who played a friendly game Saturday with co-founder Reuben Pressman, Councilmember Copley Gerdes and Chris Steinocher, CEO of the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce, said the club helps honor promises made when local leaders established the CRA.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s what we have here at St. Pete Athletic \u2013 a place that brings people together, promotes a healthy living and adds to the local economy,\u201d Welch said. \u201cIt takes vision, it takes persistence and a real belief in our community to make that happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Mayor Ken Welch (left) joined Reuben Pressman, operations manager at St. Pete Athletic, for his first game of pickleball.<\/p>\n

SPA is the brainchild<\/a> of serial entrepreneur Reuben Pressman, the club\u2019s operations manager. He enlisted Jarret Sabatini, owner of Intermezzo<\/a> Coffee and Cocktails, Nathan Stonecipher, co-founder of Green Bench<\/a> Brewing and Graham D\u2019Amico, co-owner of Major League Pickleball\u2019s Florida Smash<\/a>, to help bring the vision to life.<\/p>\n

The ribbon-cutting ceremony and grand opening weekend featured professional exhibitions, youth pickleball clinics, competitive tournaments, live podcast recordings, a courtside DJ and jazz performances. Rose\u2019s Dining and Drinks, the facility\u2019s restaurant and bar concept, debuted new menu items.<\/p>\n

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Ryan Pepiot, mascot Raymond and Tampa Bay Lightning mascot Thunderbug also showcased their skills on one of SPA\u2019s eight current \u2013 six more are on the way \u2013 pickleball courts.<\/p>\n

Highlighting the club\u2019s diverse offerings to members and the public was the overarching goal. Pressman, pointing to the number of attendees, said, \u201cThis is the reason we built this. It was for the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPickleball is just a catalyst,\u201d he added. \u201cThe dream of this came from what made pickleball so successful \u2026 How it brings people together, it\u2019s accessible and it allows anyone to have fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

SPA has sold over 800 memberships, the current limit. Welch noted that St. Petersburg already boasted the nation\u2019s second-most pickleball courts per capita.<\/p>\n

Pressman said a \u201chuge waitlist\u201d underscores the local demand for a club that caters to everyone. Steinocher called it a \u201clove story\u201d written by local entrepreneurs<\/a> and investors.<\/p>\n

He noted SPA\u2019s proximity to the Pinellas Trail, which is \u201cwhere St. Pete is going to grow.\u201d The area is also home to \u201cone of the coolest art collectives\u201d and the \u201clargest circuit board manufacturer east of the Mississippi River.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow many things can you have in just one place?\u201d Steinocher said of the Warehouse Arts District. \u201cThat\u2019s St. Petersburg, Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n

SPA commissioned Elizabeth Bonert, creative & outreach director for the Friends of Boyd Hill Nature Preserve, to create five bird sculptures that now hang from the ceiling around Rose\u2019s. She said each roseate spoonbill took approximately 80 hours to complete.<\/p>\n

Several area artists will profit from a wall of art-adorned pickleball paddles. Gerdes called the club \u201cauthentically St. Pete.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is St. Pete,\u201d Gerdes said. \u201cWhen you walk in, you feel welcome. When you come into the city, you feel the same way. You may have never experienced it before, but you know it\u2019s St. Pete. And that\u2019s what this is.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Ryan Pepiot (back, right), mascot Raymond (back, left) and Thunderbug, the Tampa Bay Lighting\u2019s mascot, put on a show for the crowd.<\/p>\n

The CRA, rather than the citywide general fund, will benefit from the area\u2019s tax base increasing due to the club. SPA, as Steinocher alluded, will likely also foster additional growth.<\/p>\n

Several thousand people will attend a professional pickleball tournament from June 18-21. Its economic impact will benefit the entire city, and a national broadcast will highlight St. Petersburg.<\/p>\n

After the event, Sabbatini said a \u201cfew hundred\u201d names are on the membership waiting list. Those could encompass couples, families and companies, which would exponentially increase the number of people vying for members-only perks.<\/p>\n

The current pause in new memberships allows SPA\u2019s founders to discern how and when people use the facility. Sabbatini said initial data shows that roughly 50% \u201cdon\u2019t even play pickleball.\u201d<\/p>\n

He designed the club\u2019s food and beverage program to be a \u201cdriving force\u201d that competes with the best restaurants in Tampa Bay. \u201cThey just want to be part of a country club experience,\u201d Sabatini said of members and now, the public.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause St. Pete doesn\u2019t have anything like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

St. Pete Athletic features 14 pickleball courts, 2 padel courts, table tennis, a fitness studio, coworking space, a podcast room, three bars and an on-site restaurant, Rose\u2019s, at 680 28th St. S. in St. Petersburg\u2019s Warehouse Arts District.<\/p>\n

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