Pickleball is an evening sport — the peak booking hours at almost every facility are after work. Good court lighting is what turns a day court into a 16-hour asset.
The spec that matters
- Recreational play: 30+ footcandles maintained across the court.
- League/tournament: 50+ footcandles with high uniformity.
- Fixtures: full-cutoff LED heads aimed down-court — the ball must be visible at the kitchen without a headlight in anyone's eyes.
- Poles: two 18–20' poles at mid-court on opposite sides is the standard single-court layout; multi-court facilities share poles between courts.
Typical budgets
- Single court, two poles, LED: $5,000–$15,000 installed
- Per-court cost drops sharply at multi-court facilities with shared poles
- Retrofit LED heads onto existing poles: $1,500–$4,000
Glare and neighbors
The complaint that shuts down evening play isn't noise — it's spill light. Full-cutoff fixtures, correct aiming, and timers solve almost all of it, and increasingly, municipalities require dark-sky-compliant heads anyway. Handle it at design time, not after the letter from the HOA.
Sequence it with the surface
If a resurface is coming, do poles and trenching first — nobody wants a trencher next to fresh acrylic. Planning a new build? The cost guide slots lighting into the full budget, and an ATS installer can coordinate both trades.