Developers preview Argyle Sports Academy, say special‑use permit will be needed for badminton and pickleball facility

Representatives from McAdams and Frisco Badminton Academy presented an 8.2‑acre proposal for an "Argyle Sports Academy" and said they will seek a specific‑use permit for an indoor badminton and pickleball facility during a town PACE meeting in Argyle.

The project team said the facility would include roughly a 30,000‑square‑foot indoor space with premium synthetic and wood courts designed to support Paralympic wheelchair athletes and veterans programs. "We are close to 50,000,000 players, of pickleball," said Kerry Reddy, founder of Frisco Badminton Academy, describing rapid growth in the sport and demand for tournament capacity.

The site already received a planned‑development (PD) zoning approval in 2021, the presenters said, and the academy would require a separate specific‑use permit (SUP) for that portion of the development. Marissa Brewer, a planner with McAdams, said the team was at the meeting to gather feedback before making a formal SUP and zoning application and that the project will proceed through public hearings before the town zoning commission and town council.

Project representatives showed the subject property near the Argyle Landing area and described nearby planned streets including Gateway Boulevard and Hampshire Drive. "This lot can't be developed till the infrastructure around it is constructed," said a project representative identified as Justin, who described the anticipated schedule: a utility pre‑construction meeting in the coming weeks, utilities in the ground within about five months, infrastructure completion in the first to second quarter of next year for the broader Argyle Landing development, and roughly a nine‑month construction schedule for the building once permits and bidding are complete.

Kerry Reddy said the academy model aims to host tournaments that generate ancillary spending on lodging and restaurants in markets that serve tournament visitors. He said the Frisco facility hosts events that have required hundreds of hotel rooms and that the Argyle site would generate taxable revenues from memberships and retail sales. "Training is always not eligible [for sales tax] ... 25 to 30% goes on the training, but the remaining 75% are taxable," Reddy said.

Residents asked how the project would affect nearby property values and community character and whether masonry or other exterior materials would be required. Harrison, the town's director of community development, said town standards include masonry requirements but noted state legislative limits on how strictly material choices can be enforced; he said the SUP and town council review would be opportunities to request building articulation and design that fits the Argyle Landing concept.

On programming, Reddy described existing Paralympic and veterans work at the Frisco site and said the academy seeks similar programming in Argyle. He said the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) and Team USA Paralympic Committee have provided backing and that Frisco was nominated as a Paralympic high‑performance center. "We are the only one in the U.S. who will be it," Reddy said regarding that nomination; he added the Argyle facility would include wood courts to accommodate wheelchair athletes, a capability the Frisco location lacks.

Marissa Brewer closed the presentation by reiterating that the team had not yet filed a formal application and that additional public hearings will follow. She offered contact information for follow up and invited residents to attend upcoming zoning and council hearings.

Details that presenters said are expected but not finalized include site elevations and final exterior materials (to be provided with later application materials), exact tournament schedules, and specific fiscal‑impact figures for Argyle (presenters described likely taxable revenue sources but did not provide an overall revenue estimate).