Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the USA. Part of the reason for its growing popularity is how you can set up a Pickleball court in any inner city park. Pickleball courts are popping up in inner cities across the nation. This is because all Pickleball needs is a hard surface like blacktop or asphalt. Because of this many abandoned basketball courts are being transformed into Pickleball courts. Which begs the question of how many pickleball courts fit on a basketball court?
How many Pickleball Courts fit on a Basketball Court?
Basketball courts are larger than standard Pickleball courts. Approximately 3 to 4 Pickleball courts can be fit on a basketball court. A standard basketball court is approximately 90 feet long and 50 feet wide. A pickleball court’s dimensions are 44 feet long by 20 feet wide. If we position each pickleball court’s baseline against the long sideline of a basketball court, we can place side-by-side about 3 pickleball courts, and 4 if we don’t mind a tight squeeze.
We should also keep in mind that most outdoor basketball courts are smaller than the standard NBA or college basketball court. This limits the amount of pickleball courts we can build onto an outdoor basketball court to about 3 pickleball courts. Having 4 pickleball courts fit into a typical outdoor basketball court would be a tight squeeze.
How to make a basketball court into a set of Pickleball Courts?
Almost any basketball court can double as a pickleball court. Usually outdoor basketball courts made of asphalt or concrete make for good Pickleball courts. However, pickleball can also be played on indoor hardwood basketball courts.
You’ll usually need some sort of way to mark the lines of your pickleball court if they aren’t already there. All you need is a couple tools to mark the boundaries for your Pickleball court. To measure the pickleball court boundaries, use either measuring tape or a proper iPhone/Android app for measurement. You’ll also need something to mark the boundary areas. This can be either chalk or a court lines marking set.
How to find the right basketball court to transform into a Pickleball Court
Finding the right basketball court to play on can be tricky, but let’s talk about the instances where its a no brainer.
If you find a basketball court in a city park near you where the basketball hoops have no rims, then you should be good to use that space for Pickleball. All you need is a solid pickleball equipment set and you should be ready to set up and play.
However, there are instances where a basketball court is fully intact, but you might want to use the space for Pickleball games. In this scenario, you should play Pickelball as an early morning workout when the basketball crowd isn’t going to show up. Typically street basketballers tend to show up in droves in the afternoon and at night. If you know for sure that no one ever shows up to play basketball on a given court at these times, then go ahead and Pickleball it up! But understand that they would probably have the right to ask you to leave if they want to run pick-up basketball.
Other Considerations for Transforming a Basketball Court into a set of Pickleball Courts
All across the USA spaces that have folks used to use for basketball are transforming into spaces for Pickleball enthusiasts. If this is you, here are some other things to consider.
- Full Pickleball Court Conversion – If you regularly play pickleball at a court and it is never used for basketball, you might want to contact your city’s local parks and recreation center and see what steps can be taken to fully transform the space into a pickleball court. Tell them that 3-4 pickleball courts can be made for each unused basketball court, and that the local pickleball community is growing.
- Dual Pickleball And Basketball Court – Also, if a basketball court is usually used at night for basketball, and used for Pickleball during the day, consider asking you local community planners to have lines painted for both Pickleball and bsketball. This is being done more and more for tennis courts across the nation as well.
Conclusion
Basketball courts are being converted to Pickleball courts more and more each year, so it is good to know what to expect when thinking about transforming one into a space for Pickleball. When looking at a basketball court, you should generally expect to fit about 3 Pickleball Courts in one basketball court. Fitting 4 into 1 is a bit ambitious, and might not leave enough room between you and pickleball playing on the courts beside you.