Dill Dinkers franchise
2025 filing · December 23, 2025Shares sales figures
Dill Dinkers at a glance
An indoor pickleball club with open play, lessons, leagues, tournaments, a pro shop, food and drinks and event space. At the end of 2025 there were 19 Dill Dinkers locations in the US, 15 franchised and 4 company-owned.
The business
- Franchisor
- Dill Dinkers Franchising, LLC
- The company that sells the franchises
- First location
- 2022
- Franchisor based in
- Columbia, Maryland
- Typical size
- 15,000–30,000 sq ft
What you pay
- Cost to open
- $496K–$1.35M
- Fee, build-out and opening working capital
- Franchise fee
- $50,000
- Honorably discharged veterans get 10% off the first fee
- Royalty
- 8%
- 8% of gross sales, paid monthly, plus 1% to the brand development fund
- Brand fund
- 1%
- 1% of gross sales, paid monthly
- Agreement length
- 10 years
- Territory
- Limited
- Limited protection
- Franchisor financing
- None offered
Where it is
- US locations, 2025
- 19
- Franchised and company-owned
- Franchised
- 15
- Company-owned
- 4
- States
- 9
- Most in Maryland, Florida and Texas
Support and records
From Dill Dinkers Franchising, LLC’s 2025 filing; revenue and net loss from its audited financial statements, page 59; SBA status from the SBA Franchise Directory, October 28, 2026.
Franchisor revenue is the company that sells the franchises (royalties, fees and anything else it earns), not what a location makes.
Where it ranks
Dill Dinkers among all franchises with the same figure.
| Figure | Dill Dinkers | Among all franchises |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, midpointHalfway between the low and high estimate | $924,091 | Costs more than 82% of franchises |
| Franchise feePaid once, when you sign | $50,000 | Higher than 70% of franchises |
| RoyaltyShare of sales paid to the franchisor | 8% | Higher than 85% of brands with a set rate |
| US locationsFranchised and company-owned | 19 | Fewer than 51% of franchises |
How much a Dill Dinkers franchise costs
Opening one Dill Dinkers costs an estimated $495,773 to $1,352,408. That covers the franchise fee and everything else needed to open, through the first months of working capital.
The biggest costs are leasehold improvements and construction costs ($213,487 to $766,226) and rent & utility deposit ($57,656 to $211,650). Here is every line of the estimate as filed:
| What it pays for | Range | Low | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Initial Franchise Fee | $50,000 | ||
| Site Review | $0 | $1,500 | |
| Training Fee & Expenses | $9,000 | $11,500 | |
| Architectural, Engineer, and Legal Counsel | $5,000 | $40,000 | |
| Audio Visual Security & Smart | $57,457 | $116,675 | |
| Leasehold Improvements and Construction Costs | $213,487 | $766,226 | |
| Rent & Utility Deposit | $57,656 | $211,650 | |
| Signage, Graphics, & Interior Décor Items | $14,747 | $24,932 | |
| Furnishings, Fixtures, and Equipment | $15,232 | $21,556 | |
| Computer, Software, Website, Point-of-Sale System | $11,569 | $17,669 | |
| Insurance | $2,625 | $9,700 | |
| Initial Inventory | $4,000 | $6,000 | |
| Grand Opening Marketing | $30,000 | $35,000 | |
| Additional Funds – Initial 3 Months | $25,000 | $40,000 | |
| Total | $495,773 | $1,352,408 | |
Source: Dill Dinkers Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, page 16
Dill Dinkers franchise fee
The franchise fee is $50,000, honorably discharged veterans get 10% off the first fee. You pay it when you sign the franchise agreement.
Source: Dill Dinkers Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, page 12
Royalty and ongoing fees
| Royalty | 8% of gross sales, paid monthly, plus 1% to the brand development fund. |
|---|---|
| Brand or marketing fund | 1% of gross sales, paid monthly. |
| Transfer Fee | $10,000 |
| Additional/Replacement Training/Assistance | $500 per day, plus reimbursement for actual expenses. |
| Local Advertising | 3% of Gross Sales.2, 4 |
The typical franchise royalty is 6% of sales, plus 2% for marketing. See franchise fees and royalties to compare.
Source: Dill Dinkers Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, page 13
Other fees as filed, from pages 13–14. The filing lists every fee, including late fees and audit costs.
Sales and earnings
Shares figures Dill Dinkers publishes sales or earnings figures for its locations. The full tables, with notes on which locations are counted, are in its filing.
Source: Dill Dinkers Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, page 44
SBA loans to Dill Dinkers franchisees
Lenders approved 7 SBA 7(a) loans for Dill Dinkers franchisees from 2025 to 2026, $3.75M in all. None has been paid off or charged off yet.
A charged-off loan is one written off as uncollectible. See SBA franchise loans for how 7(a) and 504 loans work.
Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 loan data, as of September 30, 2026
How Dill Dinkers compares
Of the 120 sports franchises on this site, Dill Dinkers is the 85th cheapest to open and the 51st largest by number of locations.
| Figure | Dill Dinkers | Typical sports brand | Typical franchise |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost to open, low end | $496K | $227K | $222K |
| Cost to open, high end | $1.35M | $442K | $477K |
| Franchise fee | $50K | $50K | $40K |
| Royalty | 8% | 7% | 6% |
| Brand fund | 1% | 1% | 2% |
| US locations | 19 | 15 | 21 |
| Shares earnings figures | Yes | 77 of 120 | 2,147 of 3,352 |
Typical is the median across the 120 brands in sports franchises; typical franchise, across every brand here.
Locations opened and closed
| Year | Franchised | Company-owned |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 0 (0) | 2 |
| 2024 | 0 (0) | 5 |
| 2025 | 15 (+15) | 4 |
Closed or left counts terminations, non-renewals, locations bought back by the franchisor and locations that stopped operating.
See which brands grew most in the fastest-growing franchises rankings.
More in the guides: pickleball franchises, franchises for veterans and franchise failure rates.
Source: Dill Dinkers Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, page 47
Where Dill Dinkers locations are
At the end of 2025, Dill Dinkers had locations in 9 states. The most are in Maryland, Florida and Texas.
- Maryland8
- Florida2
- Texas2
- Virginia2
- Connecticut1
- Georgia1
| State | Franchised | Company-owned | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maryland | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| Florida | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Texas | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Virginia | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Connecticut | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Georgia | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Ohio | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Pennsylvania | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| South Carolina | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Source: Dill Dinkers Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, page 48
Who owns Dill Dinkers?
Dill Dinkers franchises are sold by Dill Dinkers Franchising, LLC.
From Dill Dinkers Franchising, LLC’s 2025 filing.
Lawsuits and bankruptcy
| Lawsuits and regulatory actions | None. The filing says no litigation has to be disclosed. |
|---|---|
| Bankruptcy | None. The filing says no bankruptcy has to be disclosed. |
Franchisors must disclose lawsuits and bankruptcies involving the company, its parents and affiliates, and its executives. Many cases are routine disputes with franchisees over fees or contracts; read the descriptions in the filing and ask current owners about anything that worries you.
Source: Dill Dinkers Franchising, LLC, 2025 filing, litigation on page 12, bankruptcy on page 12
Dill Dinkers filings
The figures on this page come from Dill Dinkers Franchising, LLC’s 2025 filing, issued December 23, 2025, on record with the NASAA Electronic Filing Depository.
| Filing | Issued | Registry | On this page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 filing | December 23, 2025 | NASAA depository | Costs, fees and locations, 2023–2025 |
Each link opens the filing as a PDF. See the newest filings across all brands.
Other sports franchises
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Dill Dinkers is also on these lists: entertainment franchises.