Director, Market Development for East Coast Events

The OpportunityPickleball has 25 million Americans playing the sport — and most of them have never watched a live pro event. That's not a problem. That's the biggest untapped audience in sports marketing right now. As Director, Market Development for our East Coast pod, your primary mission is to turn players into fans — to build the kind of pre-event buzz, local presence, and spectator demand that makes sitting in the stands feel like the obvious next step for anyone who's ever picked up a paddle. You'll own five major events and work alongside the operations team to make sure each tournament feels rooted in its city, not dropped into it. What You're DrivingSpectator Tickets & Crowd Building: Convert the millions of recreational players in your markets into ticket buyers. experience feel electric, accessible, and unmissable. Build Local Presence: Boots on the ground - building relationships with local news outlets, influencers, pickleball clubs, and community groups so that by the time the tournament arrives, the whole market already knows it's coming. Ambassador Program: Connect with clubs and recreational networks to drive tournament entries. A full amateur draw deepens community investment and adds to the atmosphere in the stands. Local Event Identity: Work with ops to make each tournament feel like it belongs to its city. A Chicago event should feel nothing like Dallas — local hooks, local media, local energy. What You'll OwnOwn the full spectator marketing strategy for each event in your regionWork with your Senior Director to build out campaigns that drive ticket sales, registration and pre event buzzIdentify and activate market-specific channels — local media, club networks, influencers, community eventsCollaborate with operations to create event experiences that feel uniquely tied to each city's identity and cultureDrive amateur player registrations through targeted outreach to clubs, facilities, and recreational leaguesReport on attendance metrics, campaign performance, and registration numbers to the Senior DirectorWhat You Bring4–7 years of marketing experience — sports, live events, or entertainment strongly preferredProven track record of building attendance demand and converting audiences into ticket buyersDeep understanding of how to market in local and regional marketsCreative instincts paired with strategic disciplineExperience managing at least one direct reportStrong working knowledge of social media, email, and grassroots community activationComfortable being scrappy — this is creative problem-solving, not big-agency budgetsWilling to travel to every event and show up personally when it matters mostWhy This RoleThe Biggest Untapped Audience in Sports. 25 million players, a fraction of them in seats. The gap between participation and spectatorship is your opportunity. Creative Ownership. You're not executing someone else's playbook. Five different cities, five different audiences — you figure out what works and you own the results. Get In While It's Still Being Built. Pro pickleball is the fastest-growing sport in the country. The people who join now shape what it becomes.