Scottsdale's World’s Largest Indoor Pickleball Facility Clears Permit Hurdle

The biggest sell here is not just size. It is certainty. Caliber and PURE Pickleball & Padel said the project has received all required building permits for a 196,726-square-foot indoor complex at Riverwalk on the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, a step that moves the plan from speculation to a construction-ready destination with 40 pickleball courts, 8 padel courts and a 1,200-seat pro arena.

For travelers who plan trips around court time, that matters in Scottsdale’s heat-heavy market. A sealed indoor venue with this many courts changes the math for year-round play in Arizona, where outdoor courts can be a gamble once temperatures climb. PURE is not positioning itself as a local rec center. It is pitching a full retreat anchor, with sports performance and recovery space, a restaurant and bar, a pro shop, locker rooms and spa, special event space, rooftop patio and bar, meeting rooms and childcare.

The permitting milestone followed a long runway. Caliber said the approval came after a 900-day process that included hundreds of meetings, hearings and design reviews. Construction documents were submitted and accepted for review on September 12, 2025, which marked the start of the building-permit phase. The company is now finalizing construction financing and expects a final call for capital from equity investors before closing.

The broader Riverwalk setting explains why this project keeps getting treated like a major destination play instead of a standalone club. Riverwalk at Talking Stick is described as a 2 million-square-foot campus with 600,000 square feet of retail amenities, and Caliber previously said it had purchased lease rights for 100 acres in the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community in 2022. PURE sits inside that larger development engine, adjacent to Scottsdale and tied to the Talking Stick Entertainment District.

That scale also gives the project a different weight than most Southwest pickleball stops. A lot of the region’s play is still built around resort courts, public parks and weather windows. PURE is betting on something else: a climate-proof, membership-driven indoor retreat where players can book consistent court time, chase tournament atmosphere and stay out of the sun. For a sport that reached 24.3 million U.S. players in 2025, that is a serious piece of infrastructure, not a novelty.

The timing fits another trend too. Padel is still much smaller in the United States, with 688 courts across 31 states in a 2025 count, but club growth was running at 51.5% year over year. PURE’s combined pickleball-padel model is a direct bet that Scottsdale can pull both crowds under one roof. Chris Loeffler and Kevin J. Berk are selling it as a new capital for both sports, and if the financing lands, the permit approval turns that pitch into a real contender for the Southwest retreat map.