England’s Pickleball Court Crunch: Shared Sports Halls Feel the Pressure

The Court Crunch: How England’s Pickleball Boom Is Straining Shared Sports Halls
In sports halls across England, a quiet turf war is underway. As pickleball surges in popularity, players are vying for limited court time in facilities already stretched thin by badminton clubs, five-a-side footballers, and school timetables. While the game’s rapid growth is a triumph for grassroots sport, it has also revealed a fragile infrastructure unprepared for its rise.

A Sport That Arrived Quietly and Spread Fast
Pickleball may have begun as a fringe activity in retirement communities, but it is now one of the fastest-growing sports in the UK. According to Pickleball England, membership doubled between 2022 and 2024, with over 18,000 registered players and an estimated 40,000 casual participants nationwide. The demand for playing time, however, has not kept pace.

Most English pickleball clubs rely on multi-use leisure centres and school sports halls, where time slots are divided between a patchwork of users. While some venues have been accommodating, others have struggled to squeeze in a new contender without displacing longstanding bookings.

The Realities of Multi-Sport Scheduling
A typical sports hall might be home to netball on Monday evenings, junior badminton on Tuesdays, and indoor football on Wednesdays. Fitting pickleball into this grid requires diplomacy and often a bit of luck.

In Kent, one local organiser described calling eight different centres before finding a weekday afternoon slot. “We were told flat out that evenings and weekends were impossible unless another group gave up their time. That’s just not likely,” she said.

Even when pickleball sessions are granted a slot, they are often temporary or off-peak. Organisers in Manchester and Essex have described struggling to secure permanent evening sessions, limiting their ability to grow a stable player base. Some have resorted to rotating between two or three venues to cover demand, which creates inconsistency and logistical headaches.

Shared Spaces, Growing Tensions
Tensions are beginning to surface as different sports compete for scarce indoor space. In several towns, badminton clubs have pushed back against the proliferation of pickleball lines on shared courts, arguing that it creates confusion and compromises the integrity of play.

Sports hall managers are caught in the middle. Their priority is to maximise bookings and maintain harmony between user groups. Yet the boom in pickleball—often introduced by highly enthusiastic volunteers—has upset long-standing rhythms. As one Midlands venue manager put it, “We want to support new sports, but not at the expense of loyal groups who’ve been here for decades.”

Facility Shortages and Patchy Provision
The underlying issue is not just scheduling. It is a shortage of indoor sporting facilities across much of England. According to Sport England’s 2022 Active Places report, many local authorities operate at or near full capacity for indoor halls, particularly during peak hours.

In rural counties, the problem is compounded by geography. A club in North Yorkshire may only have one nearby sports hall that can fit multiple courts, and often it is booked solid with school or league activities. Urban areas, while more densely served, face competition from dozens of user groups all seeking limited evening and weekend access.

Creative Solutions and Adaptations
Despite the obstacles, clubs are finding ways to adapt. Some have forged cooperative relationships with badminton and table tennis groups to share halls more efficiently. Others have worked with leisure trusts to pilot new booking models, such as block-booking under a community sport development framework.

In Oxfordshire, one club partnered with a local comprehensive school to run dual-use sessions, where students play pickleball during PE hours and club members take over after school. The arrangement has helped justify the sport’s inclusion on the school’s regular schedule, and it has introduced dozens of new teenagers to the game.

Elsewhere, portable net systems and boundary tape allow pickleball sessions to pop up in unlikely spaces—from village halls to Scout huts. While not ideal for competitive play, these temporary solutions have helped clubs build a local presence while campaigning for more permanent facilities.

The Need for Dedicated Pickleball Venues
Ultimately, the sport’s long-term success in England may hinge on the development of dedicated pickleball facilities. At present, only a handful exist, mostly in converted tennis centres or as one-off projects supported by local clubs.

One such example is Pickleball Ormskirk, which in 2024 opened what it claims to be the first purpose-built indoor pickleball hall in the north-west. The centre hosts multiple sessions daily and has become a model for other regions considering similar investments.

However, these projects remain rare and often require significant upfront funding, planning permissions, and long-term community support. Without broader government or national sport body involvement, expansion will likely continue to depend on grassroots momentum.

Policy Gaps and Strategic Oversight
There is also a strategic question for policymakers. While Sport England has expressed support for “emerging sports,” there is no formal inclusion of pickleball in its facility investment priorities. As a result, clubs are often overlooked when councils allocate funds for infrastructure upgrades or new builds.

This is in stark contrast to how other emerging sports—such as padel or futsal—have begun to carve out dedicated facility plans with the support of their governing bodies.

Pickleball England has made strides in advocacy, but its influence remains limited compared to larger sports with deeper institutional roots. A coordinated national strategy, potentially linked to community health and ageing initiatives, could help reposition pickleball as more than a fringe activity.

Looking Ahead
The struggle for space is, in many ways, a growing pain. It is evidence that pickleball has arrived as a real presence in England’s sporting landscape. But without a clear path to sustainable facility access, the sport may hit a ceiling far short of its potential.

If England wants to embrace the benefits of pickleball—from lifelong fitness to intergenerational play—it must confront the reality of indoor court scarcity. That will mean better planning, more cooperation between sports, and, above all, investment in the physical spaces where this game can thrive.

For now, the court crunch remains. And with every new player who picks up a paddle, the pressure only grows.