Hawai‘i a pickleball hotspot

One of the fastest growing sports in the nation, pickleball has a healthy fanbase in the Islands — and the pickleball courts to prove it.

A recent study conducted by PodPlay Pickleball Business Guide, a pickleball tech company, found that Hawai‘i has the third highest density of pickleball courts in the U.S.

With 5.12 island pickleball courts per 100,000 residents, only Vermont and Maine offer more — 10.95 and 5.41 per 100,000 people, respectively. South Dakota and Idaho round out the top five with a respective 5.08 and 4.65 courts per 100,000 residents.

The study looked at data from Places2Play on pickleball court locations across the country. Cities with 10 or more pickleball locations were included in the rankings, which were calculated based on locations per 100,000 residents using population data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Nathan Serota, a spokesperson for the City and County of Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation, says the city alone has 194 pickleball courts at 96 parks across O‘ahu. There are also other public and private courts available.

"Pickleball is widely considered to be one of the fastest growing sports in the country, if not the fastest, and has held that designation for several years," he told Aloha State Daily in an email. "We have utilized a few different methods — making dedicated courts, converting underutilized courts, adapting courts to be multi-use, etc. — to accommodate this growing user group, including the plans for more dedicated courts."

There are 36 dedicated public courts, which are courts that include lines and nets solely intended for pickleball use, and plans to convert underused courts around the island into more.

DPR has so far converted courts at three parks, the department website notes, creating 12 courts at Ke‘ehi Lagoon, four at Kailua District Park, and two at Ka‘ala Neighborhood Park in Wahiawā.

The remaining conversions include basketball, tennis and volleyball courts at ‘Ewa Mahiko District Park, Haha‘ione Valley Neighborhood Park, Kamāmalu Neighborhood Park, Makakilo Neighborhood Park, Mānoa Valley District Park, Maunawili Valley Neighborhood Park, Nu‘uanu Community Park, Pacific Palisades Community Park, Pālolo Valley District Park, Sunset Community Park, Waimānalo District Park and Waipi‘o Neighborhood Park, the site states.

What's so appealing about pickleball? Serota says the best people to comment on that are the "passionate players who enjoy it."

"Like many sports, there is a community that grows around the activity," he says. "The social aspect of meeting in a park to play games, and seeing your friends and fellow players on a regular basis, is part of the allure and enjoyment. From what the players have told us, they enjoy how the pickleball involves less running and contact than other sports, so that it can be enjoyed by players from a larger age range."

Pickles at Forté, the first air conditioned, indoor pickleball and social club in Downtown Honolulu, opened in January to overwhelming demand.

Located at 1032 Fort Street Mall in the space formerly occupied by Walmart, it's part of a larger redevelopment plan in the works by Avalon Group, which acquired the property in February 2024.

Robby Kelley, executive vice president for Avalon Development, told ASD last month that membership was still going strong.

Kelley said at that time that some 1,700 people came to play in its first week, but memberships for Pickles at Forté had since stabilized at nearly 400 monthly members.

Stephanie Salmons can be reached at stephanie@alohastatedaily.com.