Sales of pickleball facilities are rising in the United States, and asking prices are being cut more deeply. Industry outlet The Dink reported on September 11 that figures from the IAPPF (International Association of Pickleball and Padel Facilities), which tracks facility brokerage, show nine facilities cut their asking prices over the past 10 weeks, by an average of 39%. Two were marked down by more than 50%. With an overheated US market moving into a phase of sorting by profitability, Japan, where permanent courts are only now being built in earnest, can read what has already happened elsewhere.
Nine facilities rewrote their price tags in 10 weeks
David Johnson of The Dink compiled the listings on the business sale site BizBuySell that cut prices between late June and early September. The average cut, close to the median, was 39%, meaning prices were re-listed almost 40% below the original asking figure. A market that was still in a construction boom a year ago is tilting from seller's market to buyer's market.
Johnson frames this not as an industry collapse but as an adjustment toward realistic levels. A facility is valued not by what it cost to build but by EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization). A venue that is not producing steady profit is hard to sell, and when a buyer does appear, the price comes in below what was spent on the walls, courts and lighting.
Why a $1.5 million venue sells for $600,000
The specifics are stark. An indoor club in Florida cut its asking price from $1.5 million (about 225 million yen at 150 yen to the dollar) straight to $600,000 (about 90 million yen). Four facilities in Florida, Maryland, Michigan and South Carolina all started at $1.5 million, but once the financials were disclosed they scattered to $600,000, $860,000, $915,000 and $1 million. The same sales pitch, priced again on actual profit, spreads this far apart.
The Pickleball Academy, with five locations, went from $4.5 million to $2.15 million; an eight-court facility on Staten Island from $699,000 to $399,000; a club in Harris County, Texas from $150,000 to $95,000. Large or small, prices are converging on what the business actually earns.
Facilities that cut their asking prices
| Facility and location | Original price | Revised |
|---|---|---|
| Florida indoor club | $1.5 million | $600,000 |
| The Pickleball Academy, 5 locations | $4.5 million | $2.15 million |
| Staten Island, 8 courts | $699,000 | $399,000 |
| Harris County, Texas | $150,000 | $95,000 |
Source: The Dink (IAPPF data, September 11). Dollar figures are the original and revised asking prices.
What Japanese facility investment can learn from a market that moved first
In Japan, facility building is accelerating instead. Mitsui Fudosanopened Tokyo's first permanent courts in Toyosu, and among local governments,Kodaira is turning a former pool site into courts with an operating partner, so idle space is being put to use. The US adjustment is less a damper on that investment than a model for designing for profitability, because it forces a shift from stacking an asking price on top of construction costs to working backward from utilization and earnings.
Prices split in the US because supply ran too far ahead of demand. Japan is still at the stage where there are not enough places to play, so utilization is easier to secure.a WNBA team owner invested in a 20-court indoor venue in Seattle, and large projects like that are appearing here too, but before size, what separates operators is whether the business is designed to fill weekday afternoons and early mornings.
Behind the US oversupply is the rapid expansion since 2021. Idle tennis and golf facilities were converted all at once, and venues multiplied without enough scrutiny of location or profitability. Facilities built on the boom's first rush are now cutting prices as the reality of utilization catches up with them. Japan, having started a few years later, is in a position to avoid the same stumble. Whether operators check, before building, that projected utilization and pricing actually add up will decide who is still standing in a few years.
What this means for the people building courts and the people using them
For anyone building a facility, the US numbers show that the period when simply opening the doors filled the courts does not last. Whether recurring revenue from lessons, tournaments and corporate use is built into the plan before opening will shape the asset's value a few years out. As long as EBITDA is the yardstick, the quality of utilization feeds straight into the quality of the price.
For players, falling prices are not all bad news. In a US buyer's market, well-capitalized operators can pick up facilities cheaply and rework pricing and programs. If supply thickens in Japan too, there is room for fees and court availability to improve. Over a long horizon, a market adjustment works in the direction of making the sport easier to keep playing.
The numbers to watch next
To judge whether a Japanese facility will last, follow weekday utilization and member retention six months in rather than the buzz at opening. The US cases have shown in advance how far a loss-making venue ends up cutting its price. When choosing among the courts opening at home, use whether lessons and tournaments are actually running, not just low fees, as the gauge of a healthy operation. Whether a place to play sticks around depends on whether it turns a profit.
Sources
The Dink「Pickleball facilities are for sale — and getting cheaper, fast」
