From an era when pros earned on court to one in which they design and run the courts themselves. Philippine papers reported in unison around July 29 that Johns Design and Consulting (JDC), the firm of Ben & Collin Johns, the top doubles players in the world, is planning Helios, a 25-court mega facility in Bridgetown, Pasig City, in Metro Manila. The center court seats 2,000 and the opening is set for 2028. Kosmas Athletic Ventures Corporation (KAVC) will run it, with Robinsons Land on the landowner and developer side. For anyone in Japanese pickleball wrestling with player development and adding courts, this is a yardstick for what is happening in Asia.
マニラ・ブリッジタウンに25面、暫定施設Helios Betaは2026年第4四半期にPPAアジア125を開催
The main Helios building runs eight stories, six of them given to sport and recreation. It will hold a gym, a sports clinic and food and drink, and is aimed at hosting international leagues such as the Professional Pickleball Association (PPA) and Major League Pickleball (MLP). At 25 courts it can carry a whole city's tournament calendar, and the 2,000-seat center court is designed for broadcast, for a show meant to be watched.
注目すべきは、本施設を待たずに走り出す暫定施設「Helios Beta」の存在である。こちらは14面で2026年第4四半期に完成予定。そして12月には、PPAアジアツアーのフィリピン初戦「PPA 125」をここで開催する予定である。ハコが完成する前から国際大会の日付を先に置く進め方には、需要が施設整備のスピードを追い越している東南アジアの実態が表れている。
A world No. 1 draws the plans: JDC advertises revenue per court at about twice the US average
The heart of the plan is that players have moved from playing to building. Collin Johns is a former world No. 1 with 35 PPA doubles titles, and his older brother Ben Johns has sat at the top of the men's game for years. The JDC the two founded handles facility design, project management, operations and branding end to end. The firm says the facilities it has worked on generate about twice the US average in revenue per court, which makes it less a consultancy trading on a player's name than a business selling revenue design.
On court, Ben Johns isa player who, even while standing at the top of MLP, has days when he goes down 11-1. That same person has begun building overseas the kind of venue that will carry his name for decades after he puts the paddle down. Alongside playing, Ben co-owns businesses such as Pickleball Getaways and Pickleball 360, and JDC sits on the same line. The Johns brothers are the first to embody a phase in which a pro's earnings reach past prize money, sponsors and equipment deals.
At the signing ceremony Collin Johns said: "Pickleball is growing explosively around the world, and the Philippines is positioned to become a major hub in Asia." Dickie Bachmann, a former chairman of the Philippine Sports Commission, takes the operating lead on the KAVC side. Binding a player brand to local capital, real estate and government connections in a single package is the thinking behind the arrangement.
なぜフィリピンなのか、経験者8.12億人というアジアの裾野
投資先が東南アジアに寄る理由は、参加者の伸びに数字で表れている。UPAアジアとYouGovの調査では、アジアでピックルボールを認知する人は約19億人、一度でもプレーした経験者は約8.12億人、月1回以上プレーする人も約2.82億人に達し、市場全体が前年比60%で伸びたとされる。とりわけベトナムは認知率88%・プレー経験率37%と経験の裾野が最も広く、フィリピン、マレーシア、シンガポールも2024～2025年に認知が急拡大した。経験者が先に膨らみ、常設コートが後を追う——この順番だからこそ、いま建てる施設が需要を丸ごと受け止められる。
フィリピンの動きは、実は首都だけの現象ではない。当サイトでもthe 17-court regional hub built on Negros Island. Helios sits on a different tier from that grassroots. It is a mega-capital play, a player brand plus a major developer plus bids for international leagues, and both the size of the investment and the intent differ from a local community opening six courts out of its own pocket. That both are rising at once shows the depth of the Philippine market.
| Facility | Number of courts | Features | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helios (main Manila facility) | 25 courts | 2,000-seat center court, eight stories | 2028年開業予定 |
| Helios Beta (interim) | 14 | 12月にPPAアジア125を開催予定 | 2026年第4四半期 |
| Dothan, Alabama, US | 25 courts | A town of 70,000 building it for tourism | Under construction |
| Izu Inatori (among Japan's largest) | 20 | A tennis conversion at a hot-spring resort | Under development |
On court count alone, there isthe 25 courts that Dothan, a US town of 70,000, built for about 990 million yenis on the same scale as Helios. But one is a regional city's tourism strategy and the other an Asian show venue flying a world champion's brand, so even at the same 25 courts the starting points of the design are completely different.
12月のPPA 125は、日本の有力選手が狙える海外グレード大会に、シンガポール巡回に次ぐ近場を加える
この施設が日本のプレーヤーと無関係でない理由は、開催される大会にある。PPAアジアツアーは今季シンガポールでKenta Miyoshi took runner-up in men's doublesであり、船水勢に続く日本勢が実際に上位へ食い込んでいる。12月のHelios Betaでの「PPA 125」は、その巡回にフィリピン戦が一つ増えることを意味する。渡航距離で見れば東京からマニラは約4～5時間、日本の選手が現実的に狙える海外グレード大会が、シンガポールに続いてもう一つ近場に増える格好だ。
If a permanent pro circuit takes root in Asia, Japan's leading players gain a realistic third option beyond the two they face now: idle at home, or jump straight to the US mainland. The thicker Asia becomes as an intermediate stepping stone, the more the development pathway comes up for redrawing.
What Manila's 2,000 seats ask of a Japan with 330,000 players and 262 facilities
Turning to Japan's own ground, the playing population is about 330,000, roughly seven times the previous year, and confirmed facilities reached 262 across 35 prefectures as of July 2026 (Pickleball One survey). The potentially interested population is estimated at about 11.89 million, so there is plenty of room to grow. Still, about half of all players are hitting in public gymnasiums, and only 30 percent can play on dedicated courts. The numbers rise, but large venues capable of staging a spectator event remain scarce.
When Manila has a 2,000-seat center court in 2028, will Japan have a permanent arena to match it? For now the answer is shaky. What Helios shows is that player numbers and investment in large venues do not necessarily move together. Who in Japan will draw up a structure that binds a player brand and real estate capital into one? Manila's blueprints throw that question back at the people running the sport in Japan.
Sources
- Spin.ph — World-class, 25-court pickleball facility to rise at Bridgetowne
- Tempo (Manila Bulletin) — World-class pickleball center to rise soon
- PPA Tour Asia — PPA Tour Asia to Bring Tournaments to Philippines’ Helios Pickleball Complex
- The Dink Pickleball — Ben and Collin Johns Becoming Players Off the Court With Design and Consulting Firm
- UPA Asia / PPA Tour Asia — Asia: The Next Frontier for Pickleball (YouGov survey)
- Pickleball One Inc. — Japan Pickleball Market Survey 2026
