A long-vacant south San Jose big-box store is set to swap shopping carts for pickleball paddles. Ace Pickleball Club is turning a former retail space at 5502 Monterey Road into an 11-court, roughly 31,000-square-foot indoor club that is expected to open in the July–September quarter of 2026 and create about 30 jobs. The membership-based venue is slated to bring everyday play, clinics and tournaments to the neighborhood.
According to Ace Pickleball Club, San Jose members will have access to unlimited open play, court reservations, social mixers, tournaments, clinics and unlimited paddle demos, with the company offering the first month free for new members. The club's site invites locals to subscribe for opening updates and links to job postings tied to the new venue.
Details including the court count, estimated square footage and job numbers were reported by The Mercury News, which noted that Ace will operate 11 indoor courts and occupy about 31,000 square feet at the Monterey Road site. The outlet also reported the company expects to open the south San Jose venue in the third quarter of 2026.
Long-empty big box gets new life
City of San José planning documents show the Monterey Plaza property at 5502 Monterey Road once hosted a 107,338-square-foot Walmart and sits at the corner of Monterey Road and Blossom Hill Road. The reuse of the former retail footprint is part of a wave of adaptive reuse projects in the region that convert vacant retail into fitness, entertainment or community spaces.
"Pickleball is one of those rare sports where you can show up not knowing anyone and leave feeling like part of a community," Ace founder Bobby Singh told The Mercury News. Singh, who started playing roughly three years ago, is leading the San Jose expansion as part of the company's broader rollout of indoor clubs.
Where this fits in the bigger picture
National and regional operators have been converting large retail footprints into destination clubs that mix fitness, courts and social programming. For example, Life Time's Otay Ranch mega-club opened with climate-controlled pickleball courts and about 200 jobs, per Hoodline. Local leaders and business groups often see those projects as a way to reduce vacancy and bring foot traffic back to aging shopping centers.
How to find out more
Ace's San Jose page includes a subscription link for opening updates and a careers feed for local hiring, and the club says it will offer paddle demos and clinics once doors open. Interested players can sign up for notifications and early-bird membership information via the Ace Pickleball Club site.
