The former Bed Bath & Beyond storefront, in the Fairview Shopping Center in Goleta, will soon be transformed into a indoor pickleball complex, The Picklr Santa Barbara.
The franchised location is owned and operated by local residents Ted and Trish Guggenheim and will feature 7 professional-grade courts, including 2 official championship-sized courts.
Additional amenities will include a warm-up and cooldown room with TRX and light fitness equipment, showers, lockers, a community lounge/meeting room, Wingfield™ AI training systems, ball machines, dink wall/court and a pro shop.
All seven courts will be finished with the same proprietary outdoor surfacing used by both The Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) and the Major League Pickleball (MPL) Tours, along with an acoustically engineered, sound-dampening systems to enhance the indoor playing experience.
They also plan to launch the “Picklr Academy” where players of all levels can train with certified instructors.
“The Picklr Santa Barbara is going to be an amazing venue for players of all levels, from total beginners to serious players,” said Ted Guggenheim. “We’re committed to creating a welcoming, world-class facility that appeals to the entire community with tons of different programming, events and coaching for every level.”
Construction has already begun at 191 N Fairview Ave and The Picklr Santa Barbara is slated to open in the Spring of 2026 with plans to operate seven days a week from 6 a.m. to midnight. It’s part of a franchise where some memberships allow access to all Picklr clubs across the United States, three more are located in Southern California.
Beyond being a place to play pickleball, the Guggenheims envision The Picklr Santa Barbara as a hub for the community, an exciting space that can support local youth programs, pro tournaments, charitable events, and business networking activity.
To celebrate the launch, the Guggenheims are planning a Grand Opening Month that will be packed with community-minded events, including a complimentary six-week league for first responders and a benefit tournament supporting a local non-profit.
Once considered a niche activity, pickleball has become the fastest-growing sport in America, thanks to its accessibility, smaller court size, and more low-impact nature. Since its founding in 2021 by Jorge Barragan and Austin Wood in Uintah, Utah, The Picklr network is rapidly expanding, with over 500 new clubs and 5,000 courts currently in development across North America.
Today, more than 13 million Americans play pickleball, with the 18-to-34 age group representing the sport’s fastest-growing demographic. National organizations like the Professional Pickleball Association and Major League Pickleball have propelled the sport from casual recreation to televised professional tours, such as the PPA and MPL.
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Cool idea, but it will likely only be used by the wealthy in our town. $100-$150 per month membership fees and no apparent drop in options for a single game means many young people and the not as wealthy won’t be using it. Same as the new climbing gym. Then again, that might leave our neighborhood courts less congested.
Still though, would rather see something for the 12-21 year old crowd to enjoy. A skating rink, better bowling center (Bolero is awful), live music venue for all ages with pool tables or something, blacklight mini golf, lots of ideas for the young folks. Or, something that more Goletans will use than a members only indoor court.
KAPO – stop trolling, you absurdly stupid poser. You know you’d be complaining about this as well. Bowlero is fine unless you dislike humans? WTF does that even mean. Gads, you’re dumb.
For that KP twit, a bowling alley is probably the apex of his cultural experiences.
Love to see a father-daughter business! Even though it’s a chain, great to see it run by locals. I’m not into this sport much but maybe I’ll check it out when they open. Congrats!
Pretty sure that’s his wife, lol.
Missing /snark tag? That’s not his daughter.
That’s his wife?? Geez, men are so predictable.
I was going to come here to defend them (maybe he just aged fast) – but google tells me 20 years age difference.
Seems like a cool idea. It’ll be pretty noisy in there I bet though. Criticizing someone for developing this as a business? What country do you live in? People have a right to run for profit business…obviously. If it makes it, they profit. If it fails, they lose. It’s called entrepreneurship.
If you had the money, Sac, you could have bought and renovated it yourself and turned it into a freebie free for all whatever you want, but you didn’t.
Hey, BASIC, I’m entitled to my opinion, just as you are.
I just said, I wish something that more local youth would benefit from would have gone in there. Since you didn’t grow up around here, you wouldn’t know about the cool things we used to have when we were teens – roller rinks, 2 bowling alleys (neither was as expensive as Disneyland), mini golf, an arcade, etc. One thing we’ve had a couple times, albeit small and inconsistently open, was a place for live music that kids under 21 could go watch. Yes, this is a paradise during the day and we’d spend our days biking, hiking, surfing, diving, fishing, etc, but at night? Nothing.
Heck, I play pickleball a lot and love it, but that doesn’t mean I can’t have an opinion about a member’s only indoor court when there are so many other cool things I think (again, MY opinion) we could have.
Try not trolling all the time.
How about the Ice Patch on the Mesa? Or Golf n’ Fun on Hitchcock? With the skatepark? Right next to the old Bob’s Big Boy. Great arcades on State St. Sure, I “didn’t grow up around here”, yeah right.
Keep lying and hassling everyone here who has a different take. It’s your prerogative, if that’s who you want to be. My problem with your comment was that you come off as anti-entrepreneur. I have a different take. If someone had the money to make this vacant building into something else like a second bowling alley less than a mile away from an existing one, they could’ve done that. They didn’t. That would’ve been a poor move financially, of course. You as a random citizen just like myself don’t get to choose these things. It’s not a city-run facility. We don’t get to provide input on what rightful business owners want to do with their endeavors. Simple as that. You must know this, so your comment comes off as someone who is just whining for the sake of whining. Embrace the new business – if you play your pickleball at Kellogg courts or the Goleta Community Center you just may not have to wait as long.
LOL oh cool, you Googled Santa Barbara in the 80s….
“Keep lying and hassling everyone here who has a different take. ”
Show me where I lied.
A different take? I said my opinion and YOU came here to knock it down. I mean, you literally say, “My probem with your comment….” Seriously, how dim are you?
Not “anti-entrepreneur” at all. Your problem is you don’t understand the language very well and have a dismal sense of reading comprehension. In fact, I suggested multiple other businesses I think would be more well received. Just because I think others would be more to my (and many others) liking (just see the comments online), does not mean I’m against people being savvy and starting a new business. Well, in this case a chain run by “locals” who just recently moved here from LA. Your favorite kind.
“if you play your pickleball at Kellogg courts or the Goleta Community Center you just may not have to wait as long.” – which is EXACTLY what I said.
Face it, you are just here to complain about my opinion. It’s literally all you do here. Lie, complain, crap on others’ ideas/activities, etc and prove daily that you’re not very skilled at reading. I think YOU need a new hobby. This isn’t working out well for you.
Cool. So I am from here, as well as several of my generations before me. We are from here. But that’s not the point.
I don’t google anything about old SB. That’s a really lame statement you make. I’d call it a lie from you but I don’t think you know any better so it’s just a false statement – add it to your dozens of them over the years. You should try and move on. Hating on people isn’t good.
You’re right when you said you may have more public court availability (so why complain?) and I do tend to dislike LA transplants when they bring “their LA” to us, which happens a lot.
I don’t think this endeavor is bringing LA to us. It’s a business that I have no problem with. You do though, and that’s fine. I just happen to disagree.
You seem to have a big problem with folks who don’t agree with you here. This is a site for comments from all folks. It’s great. I like Edhat. You just happen to be one of the 2-3 posters who spend a lot of time here and instantly resort to childlike insults and lame name-calling when someone else makes a comment that doesn’t appeal to you.
I’m not interested in a drawn-out argument with you whatsoever. It’s a great day and I have better things to do.
BASIC – “add it to your dozens of them over the years” – Name one. Name one single time I lied about something here or made a knowingly false statement (which is a lie if you understand English).
Come on, name ONE. LOL this is the part where you run away again.
“You seem to have a big problem with folks who don’t agree with you here.” – You literally came here to complain about my original comment.
“instantly resort to childlike insults and lame name-calling” – Where did I insult you?
“when someone else makes a comment that doesn’t appeal to you.” – Again, you literally took the time to come here to complain about my original comment where I was simply expressing MY opinion.
“I have better things to do.” – You clearly do not.
You are so disingenuous and such a hypocrite, it’s truly amazing. Never come across someone so spiteful, confused, dishonest and whiny.
Again, name ONE LIE I’ve told here. Bet you won’t.
So many words for someone with better things to do.
Basic, it appears that the hassling on here was started by you. You’re the one who responded in a hostile manner–nobody asked for that. As far as having a “different take”…. Aren’t you the one who’s arguing over someone else’s opinion, which they’re allowed to have? I’d try a little less projecting, if I wanted to come across as someone who’s opinion matters.
Also, “The Picklr Santa Barbara” is smack dab in the City of Goleta…..
I mean, if we’re going to be honest here….
Santa Barbara county?