Event Logistics · Power & Lighting
Power and lighting requirements for a pickleball event court
The court itself needs no power at all — it's a mechanical build. What needs electricity is everything around it: scoreboards, PA and music, phone-charging stations, and evening lighting. One or two standard 20-amp circuits cover the first group. Lighting towers for evening play are a much bigger, separate load — often 3,000–7,000 watts per tower — and are the main reason an outdoor site needs a quiet, GFCI-protected generator.
What actually needs power
The most common draw. A wireless or wired scoreboard plus a small PA for announcing and music typically pulls under 5 amps combined — light, but it still needs a dedicated circuit, not a shared strip already feeding catering or AV.
For anything running into dusk or evening, portable lighting towers are their own, much bigger load — often 3,000–7,000 watts per tower depending on size. This is the one item that regularly needs a generator, not a wall outlet.
A branded charging station is a popular add-on and a light draw, but it multiplies fast with a few devices plugged in at once — worth its own circuit rather than daisy-chained off the scoreboard.
For outdoor summer activations, misting fans keep players and staff comfortable but draw more than people expect — factor them in separately if you're already close to a circuit's limit.
What doesn't need power
- The court and net themselves — a rollout court is a mechanical build, not an electrical one.
- Daytime outdoor play with no scoreboard, PA, or amplified sound.
- A basic branded banner or signage with no lighting built in.
- Paddle and ball stations — these are just tables.
Not sure what your venue can supply?
Tell us your venue, court count, and whether it runs into evening — we'll scope power and lighting into the build.
Indoor power vs. outdoor generators
Indoors, you're usually working off the venue's existing outlets — the question isn't whether power exists, it's whether the circuit you're handed is already loaded with catering, general-session AV, or a neighboring exhibitor. Confirm this with venue operations before load-in, the same way you'd confirm a load-in window. Outdoors, with no building power nearby, a quiet inverter generator sized to your actual load — not the court, which needs none — covers scoreboards, PA, and, if you're running into the evening, lighting towers. Any outdoor circuit should be GFCI-protected given rain and foot-traffic exposure; our weather contingency guide covers the related call on when wet conditions actually stop play.
Staging and cable safety
A raised platform for an exhibition match, an emcee, or an awards moment is a common add for tournaments and brand activations — it needs its own footprint outside the court's 30 × 60 ft recommended area and its own power run, not a cord shared with the scoreboard. Any cable crossing a walkway or ADA path needs a rated cable ramp — it's a small, cheap detail that most venue contracts require and that meaningfully affects the liability picture if it's skipped. See the insurance and liability guide for how that risk gets allocated between vendor and venue.
