Ballers in Philly: How to Build a Multi-Sport Complex at Scale

This week on The Facility Playbook, Luke sits down with Alex Luscher, who runs operations for Ballers, inside their flagship club in Philadelphia. Ballers took a 55,000 square foot power plant built in 1928 and put six pickleball courts, three padel courts, two squash courts, four golf simulators, a short game practice area, a turf soccer field, a gym and wellness area, locker rooms with a sauna and cold plunges, and a full restaurant and bar inside it. Alex breaks down how they moved people between sports under one roof, why the padel courts dictated the whole building, how they ran three pickleball courts in the parking lot before the doors opened, and why every court in the place was designed to become something else. The Philadelphia Eagles held their ring ceremony on the pickleball courts. 0:00 Inside a 1928 Power Plant 5:33 The Parking Lot Pop-Up 8:24 Moving Players Between Sports 11:38 Why Padel Dictates the Building 15:49 Why They Didn't Build Their Own Software 24:23 Six Pickleball Courts, One Ballroom 35:49 Everything in Your Building Will Break Learn more about Ballers: https://www.ballers-us.com/location/p... Connect with Alex:   / alex-luscher   The Facility Playbook is operator-to-operator. Real numbers, real plays, from people who have actually run the building. Hosted by Luke Wade, founder of KC Crew and the operator behind Facility Ally. 15 years in the field, 150,000+ players through his leagues, 15,000+ active right now across 5 markets. Take the free Facility Operator Scorecard: 26 questions. Three minutes. It tells you which of the 8 levers is where you should focus right now: positioning, programming, sponsorship, sales, marketing, operations, team, and finance. You get a personalized scorecard with your widest Operator Gap and the specific moves to make next. https://facilityally.com/operator-sco... Work with Luke: Book a free 15-minute call and talk through your facility's biggest lever, operator to operator. https://go.facilityally.com/scorecard... About Facility Ally: Software and playbooks for people running sports and entertainment facilities, built from the operator's seat by someone who has actually run the leagues, sold the sponsorships, and hired the staff. https://facilityally.com The Facility Playbook podcast: New interviews with facility operators, venue founders, and sports-business guests. Subscribe and follow so you catch every episode. Podcast: https://facilityally.com/podcast Follow Facility Ally: Instagram:   / yourfacilityally   TikTok:   / facilityally   YouTube:    / @facilityally   Facebook:   / facilityally   Website: https://facilityally.com #padel #socialsports #squash #sportsfacility #facilitymanagement #sportsbusiness #pickleball #eatertainment #facilityoperator