Dallas billionaire launches Pickleball.com. Here’s what it is and who it’s for

With backing from Dallas billionaire Tom Dundon, a one-stop website capitalizing on the nation’s pickleball craze launched Friday with a goal of uniting everyone from beginners to pros. Pickleball.com will help casual players pick a paddle or find a local court, while also giving more serious fans live coverage of the Professional Pickleball Association. Dundon, owner of the Carolina Hurricanes NHL team and an avid pickleball player, is backing it through his Dundon Capital Partners firm. “The incredible growth and interest in pickleball will drive us to keep investing in premier resources for players, clubs, media and content providers,” Dundon said in a statement. The website will gather data and content from companies such as the PPA Tour, Pickleball Tournaments and Pickleball Brackets, TopCourt and Pickleball Central.

Last year, Dundon’s firm made a majority investment in Pickleball Central, an e-commerce platform, and equipment maker Pickle-Ball Inc. The firm also acquired a majority stake in the Professional Pickleball Association this year. Dundon is known in recent years for his sports investments. His career began by building a pioneering company that provided auto loans to buyers with marginal credit, a business concept that became a spectacular success. When he stepped away from Santander Holdings USA in 2015, he started his own investment firm. In 2017, he bought the Carolina Hurricanes. Forbes estimates the team’s value has risen from $420 million to $550 million under his ownership. Two years later, he committed to pumping $250 million into the Alliance of American Football, but the professional league shut down six weeks later. Dundon reportedly had put as much as $75 million of his total commitment into the league, but was funding it week-to-week, according to multiple news reports at the time. He also was an early investor in Topgolf, which merged with golf equipment and apparel brand Callaway in 2021 in a $2.6 billion deal.