The 114,000-square-foot North Shore club packs 28 courts and tiered programming into the brand’s latest athletic country club.
Life Time just opened its 16th Chicago location with a focus on pickleball.
Life Time North Shore, a 114,000-square-foot athletic country club in Northbrook, Illinois, has opened with what the company is positioning as one of the largest pickleball destinations in the country — 18 indoor courts and 10 outdoor courts spread across more than 17 acres, with indoor stadium-style seating built specifically for tournament play and spectating.
“Life Time North Shore is the region’s new and spectacular hub for all things healthy living in addition to an unmatched pickleball experience for everyday play and large-scale pickleball tournaments,” said Steven Pierce, the senior club leader at Life Time North Shore, in a statement. “We’re thrilled to bring members the premier healthy living ecosystem that Life Time is known for and add yet another location to our Chicago network of athletic country clubs.”
The pickleball focus extends to programming as well. Rather than building a single program tier, North Shore plans to offer regular intro-to-pickleball courses alongside dedicated tracks for all player demographics: peewee and junior players, active-aging members and competitors whose DUPR ratings fall between standard skill brackets.
The club also operates a dedicated pro shop stocked with professional-grade gear, making the shop as a space for serious players to grab what they need to enhance their play.
Although the brand is positioning itself as a pickleball destination, the North Shore club still operates as a full Life Time athletic country club, offering group training, reformer Pilates, dedicated barre and yoga studios, and an extensive free-weight and cardio floor.
The club is planning to open a coed hydrotherapy suite featuring a steam room, sauna, cold plunge and whirlpool this fall, joining an already-operational recovery space that includes water massage and cold therapy chairs, whole-body compression technology, percussion devices, metabolic testing and nutrition coaching — amenities that speak directly to the physical demands competitive pickleball players place on their bodies.
The club has the brand’s LifeCafe, an adjacent bar for social events and mixers, a complimentary Club Work Lounge and a Kids Academy serving children from three months to 11 years old. An outdoor Beach Club with a half-lap, half-leisure pool is planned for 2027, further expanding the property’s seasonal draw.
Life Time’s bet on North Shore signals where the bigger players in the industry see the sport heading — toward purpose-built, tournament-capable facilities that serve the full spectrum of players, not just casual drop-in use. As more large operators treat dedicated court infrastructure and tiered programming as standard rather than aspirational, smaller and mid-sized clubs may find that scale and depth of pickleball offerings become a real differentiator in member acquisition and retention.
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Jordan Meek is a staff writer for Pickleball Innovators, where she covers the rapidly evolving business of pickleball — from facility growth and technology to player experience and industry strategy. A graduate of Denison University with a degree in Journalism, she joined Peake Media in 2025 and brings a passion for storytelling and curiosity to every piece. Jordan is driven to spotlight the leaders shaping the sport and uncover insights that help operators thrive in the fastest-growing game in America. Reach her at jordan@peakemedia.com.
