Pickleball chases industrial space

Pickleball is undisputedly one of the world’s fastest-growing sports. It’s a contender for badminton as Australia’s highest trending indoor recreation activity, one of the most widely played sports in the United States with 24.3 million participants, and is even a must-have amenity in India's gated residential estates.

This is a sport with staying power.

In Australia, as quickly as the sport is muscling in on the busy sporting landscape, it is racing to fill industrial space. With Padel, another prolific bat-and-ball sport taking the world by storm, Pickleball is competing with transport and manufacturing companies for warehouses in one of the tightest markets in the world.

“We are fielding a surge in enquiries for warehouses from pickleball operators, ranging from opportunists capitalising on the sport’s popularity to established international operators,” says David Brush, senior associate, leasing, industrial and logistics, JLL.

Pickleball, described as a blend of tennis, badminton and ping pong is a two, or four-player sport, played with lightweight paddles and a perforated plastic ball. The game is played on a small, badminton-sized court (6.1 metres x 13.4m) with a slightly lower net.

Some 120,000 people are registered Pickleball participants in Australia, its popularity attributed to its ease of playing and appeal to all ages and fitness levels.

In the US, participation in Pickleball surged by 479% between 2020-2025, finding popularity on the back of COVID lockdowns when people were eager to exercise outdoors.

By 2024 the sport had taken up more than 1.3 million square feet of real estate across 40 locations.

Padel, clocking up 35 million participants worldwide, is played on a larger glass-walled court. The game is becoming so popular that hotels and resorts are adding padel courts as headline amenities.

“Many Pickleball centres are including some Padel courts and vice versa to capture the whole market,” Brush says.

Pickleball powerhouse, The Picklr, which has become one of the world’s largest Pickleball franchise operators, is actively targeting Australia and New Zealand as part of aggressive expansion plans. 

The Picklr, which has also expanded into Japan and Canada from the US is targeting big box retail and warehouse style spaces ranging from 1,500 square metres to 3,000sqm, strategically located near densely populated residential neighbourhoods.

“We've seen what Pickleball does to a community when it's done right,” says Robert Pistilli, chief executive, The Pickler ANZ. “Our facilities are unlike anything the sport has seen in Australia and New Zealand before; Fifty locations, world-class infrastructure, and a game that genuinely brings people together.” 

While The Picklr might be among the most prominent Pickleball operators it is far from alone. Many local operators are also jostling for space. 

And given the popularity of the sport, plus the fact that people are having to book a Pickleball court well in advance to play, operators with solid business models are making for lucrative long-term warehouse tenants. Most centres are heavily booked out up until late in the evening. 

Operators are usually looking for lease terms beyond the average five years, Brush says. 

“There is a substantial fit-out cost associated with an indoor recreation facility and quite a lengthy planning process so typically they’ll be looking to sign a lease of seven to 10 years. The longer-term tenure gives operators time to see an appropriate return on the capital invested,” Brush says. 

In the US, Pickleball is predominantly a retail occupier, evolving into two main types of concepts, JLL has observed. One is ‘all business’, which functions much like a sports club or gym, with courts, locker rooms and maybe a snack bar. One example is PickleMall, in Arizona Mills mall, covering 104,000 square feet (9,662 sqm) in a space vacated by an At Home store – a large-format big box retailer. As of 2024, PickleMall had plans to open 50 such locations by 2026. 

The second main concept is ‘food and fun’ – a restaurant/’eatertainment’ concept combining food, drinks, pickleball and other activities. One example, Chicken N Pickle, which has more than 10 locations.

In Australia, while industrial real estate vacancy might be climbing, the average of 5% remains one of the lowest rates globally, according to JLL Research.

For this reason and given Pickleball operators have specific requirements on warehouse size (1,500-3,000 sqm on average) and shape so they can fit enough courts into a space, suitable sites are hard to find. The rent they can pay tends to be a function of how many courts a site can fit.

Ample on-site player parking tends to be a firm requirement also.

“Because of the limited supply of suitable premises, we’re finding that indoor recreation tenants are usually prepared to pay a premium for the right space,” Brush says.

As Australia is relatively unchartered real estate territory for Pickleball operators, tenants and landlords are taking extra precaution.

“Council development applications tend to be one of the biggest hurdles, taking anywhere from three to 12 months to get the appropriate approvals, so operators have to factor that risk when signing a lease,” Brush warns.

Along with change-of-use development applications and other planning requirements, including parking consultations and substantial fit-outs, an operator’s up-front costs quickly add up, Brush adds.

“Most landlords will also be asking for an above average upfront guarantee payment due to the perceived risk and substantial fit-out required.”

Brush’s advice to operators is to think carefully about the size of the facility they want to run and the capital they’re prepared to invest. 

“They might find they’re in for a shock when they consider they’re up for a few hundred thousand dollars as a guarantee from the outset,” he says. 

Brush explains that it is also prudent for occupiers to carefully assess location to ensure they are not entering a market already saturated with centres which will dilute demand. 

“Have conversations with an agent early on about the process and costs and have a robust business plan. That due diligence at the start will help get landlords on board,” Brush says.

Are you a Pickleball operator looking for space to run your business? Or a warehouse owner looking for tenants? Let us help you out. Get in touch here