Pickleball venues test data-driven system to manage growing demand

Pickleball’s next battleground in the Philippines is not just court space. It is software, and the first real test is underway at Tela Park Pickleball Center in Las Piñas before a broader rollout at Bridgetowne Destination Estate next month.

The system is being pitched as autonomous, data-driven and highly scalable, with a direct link to a sports facility software platform. That matters because the sport’s biggest headache in fast-growing Asian markets is no longer only how to build courts, but how to manage the flood of bookings, peak-hour traffic, repeat play and event activity without turning a hot venue into a bottleneck.

At the center of the rollout is Ernesto “Jon” Ebuen, a six-time Philippine table tennis champion and four-time SEA Games campaigner who said he co-founded PingPod in New York City in 2019. Ebuen said the company’s network now stretches across New York City, Miami, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Cambridge, London, Paris, Berlin and other cities, while PodPlay has expanded beyond table tennis-related automation into billiards, golf simulators, pickleball, squash and soccer.

That reach gives the Philippine trial more weight than a one-off tech demo. Kosmas Athletic Ventures Corp., which says it handles the design, management and operations of sports facilities for land developers, sees the model as a way to generate foot traffic for townships, commercial hubs and business centers. Dicky Bachmann said the collaboration with PingPod and PodPlay is meant to broaden into Asian markets, even as there are no current plans to connect the system with national sports associations.

The timing is sharp. Robinsons Land Corp. and Kosmas broke ground on Helios Pickleball Center in Bridgetowne on July 17, 2025, and described it as Asia’s first tournament-grade pickleball facility. The project is planned as an eight-story, 17,500-square-meter complex with 25 professional-grade courts, including a stadium court, plus a gym, sports clinic, dining outlets and parking across two basement levels. Robinsons Land said Helios will use PodPlay for open-access court reservations, so players can book without membership requirements, and completion is targeted for 2027.

The scale of demand helps explain why this matters. The Philippine Pickleball Federation says the country now has more than 250 member clubs and 17,000 registered players, with local roots dating back to 2016 clinics in Cebu and the federation’s formation in 2018. The federation also says it is the world’s first government-recognized national governing body for pickleball. UPA Asia’s Kimberly Koh said Helios could be remembered as a starting point for the sport’s wider revolution in Southeast Asia and beyond, and the early technology trial suggests that may be more than a sales pitch.