Ryan Blackwell, franchise owner, Pickleplex Social Club Red Deer. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

By Josh Hall | @Vancan19

grand opening this weekend

Pickleplex Social Club now open in Gasoline Alley

Dec 9, 2025 | 5:11 PM

A new pickleball facility in Red Deer County’s Gasoline Alley area is the first of the brand’s ventures outside of Ontario.

Pickleplex Social Club is now open, but is hosting a two-day grand opening this Friday and Saturday (Dec. 12-13).

The company launched less than two years ago, opening 15 locations in Ontario.

Ryan Blackwell is the ambitious new franchise owner of Alberta’s first location, and explains he chose Red Deer due in large part to the community’s existing pickleball community and passion.

“There’s a really strong presence of players here. Red Deer has an outdoor club that has around 1,100 to 1,200 members. They have great tournaments and a very high calibre of play. Plus, it’s a growing community, so it all added up to me,” says Blackwell, a chef by trade, entrepreneur at heart, and restaurant-owner in Calgary.

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“Then there was the leasehold. It’s really important to find the right spaces; you need the right column spacing, the right ceiling heights, in a high traffic area with a good parking lot. Plus, my wife went to high school here, so we have some roots.”

The facility has 30-foot ceilings and nine courts.

Blackwell is also working on opening a Calgary location, with Edmonton in the longterm plans. But Red Deer was the right selection for an Alberta flagship, he continues.

“When I started playing pickleball about a year-and-a-half ago, I was seeing the community and seeing the excitement and the social side of it that was really, really strong, he adds.

Pickleplex Social Club is located on Lantern Street in Gasoline Alley. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)

“It was just that the entrepreneur in me was listening to people talking about non-designated facilities and how it’d be cool to have better club facilities or more open times to play when they want to, and not dictated by the local rec centres. Then I started looking into the business, I thought about building my own brand with it, and then I was like, I’m just going to explore the franchise and say, okay, is anybody building one yet?”

Blackwell’s belief is that pickleball, which has been around for decades, is really finding its groove and is here to stay as a popular sport for people of all ages.

It’s likely to be an Olympic sport one day, in his mind.

According to Pickleball Canada, there was a 57 per cent rise in the number of Canadians playing pickleball from 2022-2024.

The grand opening will feature free play, though Blackwell clarifies the public is always welcome to drop in for affordable rates, even though it is a membership-based facility.

He notes too that Pickleplex’s head pro is Joel Pelletier, who is regarded as one of the best men’s players in Canada, playing in the CNPL. Pelletier is joined by a group of coaches who’ll be on hand.

The club features all the bells and whistles, including an immersive and interactive mobile app, on-court AI technology which tracks stats, scores and swings, plus there are private rooms and the facility is licensed.

Blackwell says the location already has and will continue to have a strong partnership with the Red Deer Pickleball Club.

Find Pickleplex Social Club at Unit 106 – 409 Lantern Street, Red Deer County.