DeVos Family Opens Members-Only Pickleball Club in Orlando's SODO District

Pickleball in Orlando just crossed a threshold most rec players did not see coming: a $5,000 cover charge. Hamlin House, the DeVos family's 28,000-square-foot members-only club in the SODO district, opened in late March at 231 W. Grant Street, and its arrival forces a real question for anyone who plays three or four times a week: does a private club make sense for your game, or is this a very expensive cocktail lounge with seven courts attached?

Run the math first. Full membership requires a $5,000 initiation fee and $400 per month in dues. Spread the initiation over 36 months and stack on monthly dues, and you are spending roughly $540 a month on court access. For comparison, reserving a court at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona starts at $18 an hour. At that rate you need to log about 30 court-hours a month just to break even on dues, not counting the initiation fee. That's more than seven hours of play per week. For the typical Orlando rec player, the numbers do not pencil out on court time alone.

What shifts the calculus is the full-day food and beverage program developed with Chef John Fraser and JF Restaurants. The coffee bar, partnered with local roaster Lineage Coffee, opens at 7 a.m. Lunch runs from 11 a.m., dinner from 5 p.m., with a cocktail menu and Florida-inspired dishes. Outdoor players get courtside servers. Add a family room, outdoor patio, and the stated ambition of becoming a daily destination rather than a twice-a-week court booking, and Hamlin House starts resembling a country club model more than a rec center.

That dual identity is by design. General Manager Ashley Turner, describing the club as "a modern day racket club," confirmed that some current members hold a Social Membership, which covers dining and events without any court obligation. The Racquet Membership covers courts, leagues, clinics, and instruction. Both tiers are available for individuals, couples, families, and corporate accounts. Early-access memberships, which opened in October 2025 at $200 per month, gave the founding cohort a discounted on-ramp before the club's full pricing took effect.

The DeVos family's stake in pickleball now runs vertically. Ryan and Michelle DeVos, who co-own Hamlin House, also own Major League Pickleball's Orlando Squeeze, the franchise Ryan co-founded in 2023. Ryan DeVos has served as Managing Director of the NBA's Orlando Magic since July 2025, continuing a family legacy that began when Rich and Helen DeVos acquired the Magic in 1991. The club's general manager adds another layer of connective tissue: Turner previously led external affairs for UCF's DeVos Sport Business Management Graduate Program and managed premium activation for the Magic before taking the Hamlin House role.

The club's April 15 grand opening celebration, featuring live music and member tournaments, is the clearest way to experience the facility before committing. The venue was designed by Baker Barrios Architects and built by DPR Construction, and the indoor courts can double as private event space for member-sponsored corporate outings.

The club's name nods to the Hamlin orange, the cold-hardy citrus variety developed by A.G. Hamlin that outlasted the Great Florida Freeze of 1895 when other crops failed. With 36.5 million Americans now having played pickleball at least once and new lifestyle-oriented clubs redefining what court access looks like, the question is whether members-only models built on hospitality, not just hardcourt footage, become the sport's dominant urban format. Hamlin House intends to be the answer in Orlando.