8 sheltered pickleball courts open to public from March 16 at Little India Bus Terminal
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
Eight pickleball courts at the retrofitted Little India Bus Terminal were opened as part of the new ActiveSG courts @ Farrer Park on March 14.
ST PHOTO: JASEL POH
- Eight new pickleball courts will open at Little India Bus Terminal to meet growing demand, with ActiveSG bookings increasing tenfold from 2023 to 2025.
- ActiveSG Courts @ Farrer Park demonstrates innovative use of space in land-scarce Singapore, part of a plan for more accessible sports facilities by 2030.
- LTA partnered SportSG, optimising space by retrofitting part of the bus terminal, which will continue operating on Sundays, for dual-use community needs.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – From March 16, pickleball enthusiasts will be able to dink, volley and rally at eight new sheltered courts located inside the retrofitted Little India Bus Terminal.
Known as ActiveSG Courts @ Farrer Park, the facility was officially opened by Mr Alvin Tan, Minister of State for National Development and Trade and Industry on March 14.
The courts are available for booking via online platform MyActiveSG+ and the new venue is part of the Government’s bid to meet increasing demand for the emerging sport, which has seen ActiveSG facility bookings increasing tenfold between 2023 and 2025.
As a boy, Mr Tan played football and tennis at Farrer Park, which he acknowledged as “the spiritual home of sports in Singapore”.
After sparring with residents on March 14, he said: “Given that pickleball is a growing sport in Singapore, and many of my residents have asked for more sporting spaces, including for pickleball, we worked together with the Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Sport Singapore (SportSG) to avail this space, and now we have eight pickleball courts for our residents to enjoy.
“A key part of this is a broader vision for us to bring back sports to Farrer Park.”
Farrer Park was the hub of local sports from the 1940s to 80s, housing an athletics centre, boxing gym, swimming complex, football pitches, tennis and squash courts. It produced household sporting names such as footballer Quah Kim Song, swimmer Ang Peng Siong and boxer Syed Abdul Kadir.
In 2022, the Housing Board, SportSG and the Urban Redevelopment Authority announced that the 10ha site would be redeveloped into a public housing estate with about 1,600 flats. About 20 per cent of the site would be set aside as open spaces for sports and recreational use.
According to SportSG, ActiveSG Courts @ Farrer Park is part of the broader long-term development of sports facilities in the region, and when completed, the park will include a sheltered swimming complex, multi-purpose play area, inclusive gyms and running tracks.
Mr Tan also added that work is also in progress for a rugby field that can be used for football, as well as futsal courts.
ActiveSG chief Tan Hock Leong shared that considerations for building spaces such as the pickleball courts include accessibility, height clearance, wind factor and noise factor. Residents were also consulted to ensure that they were happy with the idea and to allay any concerns.
He said: “ActiveSG Courts @ Farrer Park shows us what is possible when we think about how existing spaces can be utilised to better serve our growing sporting communities. Incorporating a pickleball sport facility into the existing Little India Bus Terminal is a practical way of optimising public spaces for sport.
“This also reflects our commitment to bringing active living closer to every Singaporean – whether they are new to sport or looking for a convenient venue to play regularly. This facility is part of our wider efforts to respond to the community’s passion for sport, making sport more accessible and providing more play opportunities for all.”
Yeo Teck Guan, LTA’s senior group director for public transport, added: “By retrofitting sections of Little India Bus Terminal into pickleball courts, we are optimising the use of available space while minimising impact on current Sunday bus operations serving migrant workers.
“This smart, dual-use arrangement allows the bus terminal to serve both transport and community needs, and we hope it will bring more communities together.”
Acting Minister for Culture, Community and Youth David Neo recently announced during a parliamentary debate that an additional 50 multi-purpose courts for badminton or pickleball use will be built islandwide over the next five years to address the growing interest among Singaporeans in these sports.
With the new Farrer Park facility, there are now more than 80 courts for pickleball across ActiveSG Sport Centres and dual-use scheme venues island wide.
Peak-hour slots will be allocated through a balloting system that opens 14 days in advance, while non-peak slots and unassigned peak-hour slots will be released on a first-come, first-served basis from 12 days prior to the booking date.
The courts are open for use from Mondays to Saturdays, from 9am to 9pm, while the facility continues to operate as a bus terminal on Sundays.
With the new Farrer Park facility, there are now more than 80 courts for pickleball across ActiveSG Sport Centres and dual-use scheme venues islandwide.
ST PHOTO: JASEL POH
At the launch, members of the public had the opportunity to try pickleball, including the use of quiet play equipment.
The Moulmein-Cairnhill Community Sports Network also hosted a friendly pickleball competition among residents, allowing those living in the area to get to know their neighbours as they pitted their skills against one another.
Resident Augustus Surya Jayarajan, 18, said: “I enjoy playing a lot of sports like football and tennis, so hopefully pickleball won’t be hard to pick up. I think this new facility is a good social space to meet new people and continue healthy living through sport.”
