Rec centre revival: Investors say ‘game, set, match’ to pickleball and squash

As the Australian Open serves up big crowds and big hits, there’s set to be a resurgence in smaller rackets – recreation centres slicing and dicing in pickleball and squash.

With the 2026 Australian Open gathering topspin momentum, a lot of people are no doubt dusting off their racquets and best tennis whites… and realising how hard the sport can be.

Pickleball is winning fans for its more accessible play. Picture: Getty

While squash might seem like ‘such a ‘90s thing’, the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles will feature the sport as a first.

Pickleball, too, is gathering momentum, favoured for its more accessible play, smaller court size, and slower pace than tennis, which typically has a higher learning curve.

A standard pickleball court size is 13.41m by 6.1m, while a squash court is typically 9.75m by 6.4m – both much smaller than a tennis court, allowing for business opportunities in higher-density areas.

Major investors in pickleball include Lebron James, Tom Brady and tennis’ own Naomi Osaka to name a few.

What this means is that for developers, there is potential for the rebirth of the rec centre, with these two racquet sports to be a recreational mainstay for the next decade.

Rebirth of the rec-centre

There are two standout squash-centric listings up for sale on realcommercial.com.au.

There’s one outside of Sydney at 3-5 Young Street, Lithgow, and one at 244-252 Kitchener Road, Stafford Heights – a middle-ring suburb of Brisbane.

Stafford Squash Centre is for sale for the first time in more than 55 years. Picture: realcommercial.com.au

Young Street, Lithgow, is co-listed by Jamie Giokaris of LJ Hooker Lithgow and Peter Seeto of Cabmon Property, and is a 1970s relic.

A substantial three-storey landmark in the Blue Mountains region, the agents have called it a “blank canvas” but there’s room to revive it to its former glory.

The rec centre is only a few hundred metres to Lithgow Station and is close to other amenities that Lithgow has to offer.

The Stafford Heights squash centre is also brimming with opportunity, offered by Jeff Smith of Real Estate Doctor Buderim.

Located just off main arterial Gympie Road, Stafford Heights is fast becoming a blue-chip location in Brisbane’s popular northern corridor.

Close to shops, cafes, and Chermside shopping centre, Stafford Heights squash centre is ripe for revitalisation.

Offered for sale in the first time in more than 55 years, the health and fitness centre is already well-established in the community and sports six squash courts, a gym and fitness centre, physiotherapist, and a coffee shop out the front.

There is a strong opportunity to modernise the facilities and build pickleball or paddleball courts – or stick to squash and hopefully catch the momentum heading into the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Restore Lithgow’s squash centre to its former glory or ride the pickleball wave. Picture: realcommercial.com.au

Sport spend continues to sizzle

Despite Aussie households continuing to battle with the cost of living, there is still money to be spent on sport and recreation.

For viewing, the opening day of the Australian Open saw record crowds, with 73,235 through the gates on opening day, exceeding the previous record 68,883 on the middle-Saturday of the 2019 Open.

The ABS’ household spending indicator shows that in November (the latest available data), recreation and culture expenditure increased 1.7% over the month, which was the third-largest category in terms of growth.

Commonwealth Bank’s household spending insights report for December showed recreation spending was up 0.2% on the month, and 7.9% on the year.

CBA head of Australian economics Belinda Allen. Picture: Commbank Media

“The shift higher in consumer spending through all of 2025 was driven by improvements in income and wealth,” said Belinda Allen and Lucinda Jerogin, CBA economists and authors of the insights report.

“Households have also rebuilt savings buffers through this period highlighting households have been both saving and spending over the past year.

“However, the lift in spending through the later stages of 2025 were stronger than anticipated and suggests households’ willingness to spend is stronger than we had expected.”

This is also reflected in higher prices, with one of the main drivers of December 2025’s inflation uplift being recreation and culture.

The ABS’ consumer price index showed that inflation hit 3.8% in the 12 months to December, and recreation and culture inflation hit 4.4%.

The uplift in the category’s prices from November to December was 7.4%, which the ABS partly attributes to sport attendance such as the 2025 Ashes cricket series.

January’s inflation data will be one to watch, which encompasses the Australian Open and the ATP 250 series including the Brisbane International and Adelaide International.