Village of Estero ditches Chicken N Pickle, consolidates entertainment hub with High 5

Chicken N Pickle won't be part of the Village of Estero's new entertainment hub. Instead, Estero will sign a deal with High 5 Entertainment and look for just one more commercial venture, instead of having three for the 20-acre site.

The deal with High 5 will get the village more pickleball courts and a better return on its investment, Consultant Michael Comparato with Bonita Springs-based Vieste LLC told Village Council at its regular meeting on Wednesday, May 15.

"We have a lot of respect for Chicken N Pickle. They are a quality organization," Comparato said. "We all did diligence on their operation and their position in the pickleball entertainment. But at the end of the day, as we try to take all factors into consideration from the village's perspective and to who we're partnering with and what we're getting out of that relationship, there were a number of boxes that just checked more with High-5 Entertainment than with Chicken N Pickle, including, for example, the number of courts that we would actually get based on the arrangement between the two parties."

What will Village get with High 5?

In the 90-year agreement, which village council members approved unanimously, Austin-based High 5 agreed to construct a 40,000-square-foot building with two levels, including a mezzanine and outdoor bar seating area. Indoor family entertainment elements will include bowling, an arcade, laser tag, and more. Among the outdoor elements will be an 18-hole miniature golf course, 21 pickleball courts and socializing space for games such as bocce and cornhole.

High 5's operations are expected to open in October 2025 as long as Estero delivers a promised pad-ready site by October of this year. Estero hired Wright Construction Group for the job. The council voted to grant Fort Myers-based Wright a Notice to Proceed on Phase 1 of construction for $1.78 million.

As part of Estero's first public-private partnership, High 5 will buy the land from the village, and the village will receive an annual priority payment equivalent to 40% of net income in exchange for the village’s allocated investment into land, site development, and entertainment-related amenities.

High 5's baseline estimates would give the village about $1.1 million a year, Comparato said. "Obviously we have the opportunity for that to be better. But that gives us about an 8 or 9 percent return." And that was the target when talk of such partnerships began, he said.

"I’m excited about consolidating with one operator to provide exactly what we, the Village of Estero, wants for this community.," said Mayor Jon McLain.

Who and what is High 5?

Started in 2012 by Jenny and Scott Emley, High 5 opened the doors of its first location. In 2002, another couple – Brad and Keri Little who founded HeyDay Family Entertainment in Oklahoma joined forces with Emley and their investors.

High 5 currently has two locations, both in Austin, and has announced new locations in Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and one franchise-model in the Quad Cities in Iowa, according to its website. At its Lakeway location, just outside of Austin, High 5 offers bowling, a Top Golf swing suite and axe throwing.

Kansas City, Mo.-based Chicken N Pickle and High 5 were announced in July as companies that would develop two of the village's three parcels.

"We felt like at the end of the day High-5 was listening and was grasping our local community and the demographics of our local community better than Chicken N Pickle did, frankly," Comparato said. "We were listening very, very carefully to the pickleball community here."

What about the other two village parcels?

Vieste has started drafting documents for the next solicitation phase for the remaining two parcels, Comparato said, looking for a similar agreement.

"The approach that we're taking as a community is to create a public/private partnership not only for High-5 but other private firms that will be providing family entertainment venues and also providing a source of revenue for the village that can be used to maintain the sports entertainment complex adjacent to the high school," said Village Manager Steven Sarkozy.

Estero's sports entertainment complex next to the high school is undergoing improvements with upgrades to the football field and the tennis court area, he said. Also planned is the complete renovation and improvement of the 55 acres adjacent to the high school with soccer fields, other sports fields, walking paths, baseball fields and "other activities to be available not only to the school, but particularly to the village residents."

More: Estero planners ask entertainment hub developers for 'spectacular' design

Earlier: Village Council chooses two potential partners for Estero Entertainment District

This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Estero makes deal for pickleball courts, entertainment in village hub