Epic Padel to open first Milwaukee club in late August

Epic Padel Inc. will open its first Milwaukee club at the end of August on the city’s far northwest side, adding a dedicated padel venue to a market still better known for pickleball. The move gives Milwaukee one of the clearest signs yet that padel is trying to build its own identity in the U.S. rather than riding on pickleball’s momentum.

The company’s Milwaukee page lists the club at 12350 W Brown Deer Road in Milwaukee, while the Journal Sentinel identified the site as 12320 W. Brown Deer Road. Either way, the location puts Epic in a corridor far from the downtown core, where a destination-style club can draw players from across the metro rather than relying only on walk-in traffic. That fits Epic’s broader pitch: the Arlington, Virginia-based company says it wants to become the largest operator of padel clubs in North America.

Epic is moving into Milwaukee with a beginner-friendly sales plan built around coaching and onboarding rather than hard-core club membership first. A Facebook snippet tied to the opening says complimentary introductory clinics will run several times a week for beginners, and “play with a coach” sessions will cost $40 per participant. That combination matters in a market where many new players still need a first-touch lesson before they feel comfortable booking a court, handling the walls and learning padel’s scoring rhythm.

The strategy also reflects a broader business bet. In September 2025, Epic Padel raised an oversubscribed $10 million seed round to expand its U.S. presence, including Milwaukee, giving the company capital to move quickly into new cities. Epic’s own site promotes premium playing surfaces, modern locker rooms and fitness areas, which positions the Milwaukee club as a full venue, not just a court installation. That destination model is designed to support repeat play, lessons and social traffic, the pieces padel operators need if they want to outlast the initial novelty cycle.

Milwaukee is not looking like a one-off test market either. BizTimes Milwaukee Business News has already reported a second padel recreational sports complex planned in the city, and local padel listings such as Padel MKE point to an early ecosystem taking shape around the sport. For Epic, the late-August opening is less about a single ribbon-cutting than about proving that padel can claim space in the American racket-sport conversation beyond the coastal and Sun Belt lanes where it first gained traction.