For municipal leaders and recreation professionals, the demand for pickleball courts is outpacing supply — creating both a challenge and an opportunity. Sports designers and landscape architects play a key role in addressing these demands with strategic planning and site selection. The following are smart design solutions to help communities meet the pickleball boom head-on.
The sport has experienced exponential growth, with USA Pickleball (USAP) reporting a membership increase from 4,000 in 2013 to nearly 78,000 as of January 2024. The number of known pickleball courts in North America has also risen dramatically. The USAP court location database, Pickleheads, now includes 68,458 courts, with 18,455 new courts added in 2024. This growth is attributed to the sport’s appeal across various age groups and adaptability to different playing environments.
When planning a pickleball facility, it is crucial to assemble a diverse team that includes design professionals, court builders, local players and municipal leaders, if applicable. This team can provide valuable insights into the needs of different user groups, such as adults, seniors and children. Additionally, ensuring compliance with zoning, permitting and ADA requirements is essential to meet all legal standards.
It’s important to ask critical questions during the planning phase:
Different groups of users will have varying desires, needs and requirements. By addressing these questions and considering the diverse needs of potential users, you can create a facility that serves the community effectively and inclusively.
The court area is a 20-foot-wide by 44-foot-long rectangle for both doubles and singles matches. The American Sports Builders Association (ASBA) and USAP recommend the following overall sizes for playing areas:
During the design input process, we found that players preferred the competitive-sized court, given their increased movement and the ability of players. Some players feel the standard recreation size is too small, with insuf?cient overrun at the sides and backcourt for playability and safety. In several of our recent projects, the community requested the competition size since they had been playing on the standard recreation size and found it insuf?cient.
In recent years, the landscape of court building has seen exciting and innovative trends, especially in pickleball. New facilities are emerging in non-traditional locations, transforming unexpected spaces into vibrant pickleball hubs. Existing hard courts are being converted to pickleball courts, maximizing available space and resources. Where space allows, adding bays of pickleball courts to existing tennis locations helps avoid con?icts with tennis players.
Multi-court facilities, which include basketball, tennis and pickleball courts with shared social areas, are also gaining traction. These versatile complexes cater to various sports enthusiasts and foster community engagement. Additionally, older indoor gyms are being repurposed for pickleball, providing weatherproof environments for year-round play.
These trends re?ect the dynamic nature of court building, driven by the growing popularity of pickleball and the desire to create inclusive, multi-functional recreational spaces.