CHAPTER TWO • DEMOGRAPHICS & TRENDS NAPERVILLE PARK DISTRICT INDOOR RECREATION SPACE NEEDS ASSESSMENT
NATIONAL TRENDS IN PICKLEBALL PARTICIPATION
Pickleball participation statistics (Figure 20) are from a 2022 nationwide study conducted by Sports Marketing Surveys USA (SMS). Under the guidance of the Sports & Fitness Industry Association (SFIA) and seven other sports industry associations that make up the Physical Activity Council (PAC). The participation study was designed and launched by Digital Research (DRI). FACILITY DATA 2023 Pickleball facility statistics are from a national pickleball court database known as Pickleheads. Pickleheads is an industry leading platform for pickleball court and schedule information, providing a comprehensive and accurate database of court and game data. The database is maintained by public users and included 51,937 courts across 12,081 facilities as of June 2023. Pickleheads’ recommendation is one dedicated court per 500 participants. This is based on the average time each participant plays weekly. The average cost of a new outdoor pickleball court is estimated between $20,000 and $50,000. NATIONAL TRENDS IN PICKLEBALL ACTIVITY ɀ Pickleball has had an 85.7% increase in participation from 2021 and a 158.6% increase from 2019. ɀ Pickleball is a multi-generational sport. Our data indicates the average age of a pickleball player is 35 years of age, and the age group with the most participants is 25-34, with the 65+ and 18-24 age groups following closely behind. ɀ Pickleball participation grew in every region in the United States in 2022 with the South Atlantic region (including Delaware, Florida, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Washington D.C.) leading the way with 1.9 million pickleball players. ɀ There remains a large opportunity to build dedicated pickleball facilities. Over 70% of pickleball courts are temporary in nature.
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