Serving ‘Dinks’ (and Drinks) in the South Bay
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For the city of El Segundo, a few people are making a huge “smash.” In a sign of the area’s growth as an entertainment destination, California Smash, a pickleball and social club, is set to open in June as the only indoor pickleball facility in the area. It combines the appeal of the wildly popular sport of pickleball with a full-service bar and restaurant and social club in a converted warehouse. For founder Brett Drogmund, the path to a pickleball club is the next stop on his journey as an entertainment executive and real estate developer.
He has worked in El Segundo for 15 years, developing creative spaces following a career with Disney where he worked on nine animated features. While he’d honed his craft on venues like a food hall, the pickleball club was born from his desire to spend time doing something where he could connect with something more important - family. He picked up the sport when he moved to the South Bay and played regularly with his son, but there were only outdoor courts available, and they were always packed.
“I want to change the heartbeat of El Segundo,” said Drogmund. “This started as a journey of one.”
A Burgeoning Business and Entertainment District
Drogmund worked with JLL’s Gary Horwitz and Kamil Agha, who represented California Smash in the lease. They are utilizing a 28,000-square-foot industrial warehouse that was originally built for the aviation sector and convinced the landlord to take a leap of faith on a mixed-use conversion that could provide entertainment throughout the day and into the night. Once Drogmund signed the lease and got approval from the El Segundo planning commission, he shared his vision with local investors who have a connection to the sport and raised between $4 to $5 million to bring California Smash to life. None of those funds came from venture capital firms.
One inspiration for the business already existed nearby in the form of golf at Topgolf El Segundo. That facility renovated an underutilized municipal golf course into an entertainment destination that is now among the top-performing locations of the golf franchise nationwide.
“We’re a business-friendly city. A lot of our strategies were based on office space and creative office space, but that changed when hit. We’re looking at a creative economy and ways to turn industrial into entertainment,” said El Segundo city councilmember Lance Giroux.
The area has evolved from its roots as an aerospace hub and home to a refinery. In fact, the city itself is named after the longstanding Chevron refinery. El Segundo comes from the Spanish phrase “el segundo,” or “the second” - the site was the second built by Standard Oil in California. The city’s population is small due to its limited residential area, but it has a central location among coastal communities of the South Bay.
Perhaps even more importantly to commerce, El Segundo draws about 60,000 people daily to work, a number that will increase as returnto- work mandates become more common.
Those employees are part of a growing cohort of creative office users who have moved into spaces traditionally occupied by the aerospace sector that have helped make El Segundo a tech hub and brought startups to town. Employees of firms such as Beyond Meat and L’Oreal work in El Segundo alongside the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Chargers and Los Angeles Kings have joined the longstanding aerospace companies including Boeing and Northrop Grumman.
The Allure of the Yellow Ball
Pickleball has exploded in popularity as a sport. The Sports & Fitness Industry Association’s second annual report on pickleball participation found that participation grew by 51.8% from 2022 to 2023 and was up by 224% over the past three years. There was growth across all age groups. For Scott Doerner, who serves as California Smash’s general manager, pickleball represents a sport that is easy to play, allows for some strategy and has an addictive, fun quality. He has plenty of experience in court sports - he helped Pepperdine’s tennis team win a national championship in 2006. The idea of a pickleball facility and social club was something he felt would be successful, but Doerner hadn’t found a model that would work in Southern California, where land prices and business operating costs are high. When he was introduced to the California Smash concept last year, he quit his commercial real estate job and fully committed to the venture as an investor and employee.
“It’s part of my fitness and social regimen. With phones and social media, people want a place to connect. We’re going to be one of the top event spaces,” said Doerner. The facility is expected to be open for 16 hours a day and will regularly employ 30-40 people. It is looking to partner with local businesses for corporate events, and it can also host community events such as birthday parties and fundraisers in its sectionable private spaces, like a mezzanine-level platform overlooking the entire facility, as well as a private court. It has already started booking events for June, July and August. It will also look to host pickleball tournaments as well.
Although it has yet to open, Drogmund has already begun looking at opportunities to replicate and expand the facility in Orange County and San Diego, though they believe each facility will have its own distinct features. “We like the vibe of our place. It’s really hard to duplicate,” said Drogmund.
