Portland’s historic Black-owned Portland Athletic Club currently faces an uncertain future as Glenda Hall-Blackburn, the sister and conservator of the 84-year-old founder of the club, potentially prepares to sell the club to a pickleball business.
According to KGW 8, family members have indicated that Marion Blackburn, the founder of the club, has dementia and his sister, who was appointed to be Blackburn’s conservator in July, is likely preparing to accept a $4.95 million offer from RECS, an indoor pickleball center in Clackamas County.
Dominic Waters, Blackburn’s grandson, told the family that other family members have attempted to purchase the club, but were ignored by Hall-Blackburn.
As Waters told the outlet, he worries about the impact of the loss of the club on the community.
“I’m just proud of this place, and I’d like to, for myself and my family, keep it in the family,” Waters said. “It’s really important and for the community, man, all these little kids growing up and playing here.”
When Blackburn opened the club in 1977, it was one of the few tennis clubs that was open to all, no matter the color of their skin; Blackburn was inspired to create the club after being turned away at other tennis clubs because he was Black, and it turned into a hub for the community over time.
Nikki Blackburn, the spokesperson for the PAC indicated in a statement to KATU that the community stands behind the club that Blackburn built.
“Today, the PAC stands as a testament to Marion overcoming barriers, perseverance, leadership and love for tennis, and advocates are determined to ensure it remains a thriving part of Portland’s tennis community,” Nikki Blackburn said.
According to Waters, his grandfather would want him to purchase the club; and while he wasn’t ready in the past, he is prepared to purchase it now.
“From my perspective, I know my grandfather would give us first right of refusal,” Waters said. “He offered me to buy it in 2021; that’s in the court documents as well, and I wasn’t prepared to do it at the time, but now, I am.”
According to court documents, Hall-Blackburn is making the argument that before he began going through dementia, Blackburn understood that the business needed to be sold because it was losing money, a claim that Waters refutes.
In addition, family members are challenging the conservatorship and have petitioned the court to think about pausing the sale proceedings until that has been decided.
Meanwhile, Kevin Richards, the CEO of RECS, said in a statement that their offer predates the family infighting over the club.
“RECS has been identified as a potential third-party buyer of the real property where the Portland Athletic Club (PAC) is located, which is factual. RECS made an unsolicited offer which predated any family dispute, and any purchase would be contingent upon a comprehensive due diligence phase,” Richards told KGW.
Sam Sirken, a PAC member who is leading a group of buyers interested in purchasing the center, said in his own statement that it is vital that the PAC remains in the possession of the community and not an outside entity.
“We need to act quickly,” Sirken said. “If PAC is sold, it will not only be a devastating loss to our community but also to the legacy of a man who broke racial barriers in this sport. We’re calling on supporters, investors, and local leaders to help us save PAC.”
A petition on Change.org, which lists Sirken as a decisionmaker, is currently circulating and has collected over 1,000 signatures. It emphasizes the center’s role in the legacy of Blackburn while also countering the narrative that the center is a failing business.
“We, the undersigned, urgently call for the preservation of the Portland Athletic Club (PAC)—the first and only Black-owned tennis club in in the Pacific Northwest. Founded by the trailblazing Marion ‘Paps’ Blackburn, PAC has become a beacon of accessibility, affordability, and excellence in the Portland tennis community,” The petition reads. “Today, this historic institution is at risk of being sold, threatening the legacy of a man who overcame segregation to create opportunities for future generations.”
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