Top 3 Indoor Court Venues that you can rent to play or practise in Singapore
Article by PK Ong
One of the nation’s most played team sports is no doubt basketball. You can find at least 1-3 basketball courts in every estate here. Most of these are outdoor venues but more sheltered venues are coming up year by year as an effort by the government and the local sporting body to promote sport in our sunny / rainy climate.
Many of these courts can be found in local community centres (CC) or public sports centres, but as much as their primary function is a basketball court, they are also used for most other activities that happen here, such as all sorts of martial arts (Taekwondo, Judo, etc), other sports (badminton) or other classes that run on a daily basis at these locations. As such, to find an open court that is available to play may often be a stretch for most.
For those venues that are open to the public just for basketball, most of them are packed during peak hours, usually in the late afternoons or evenings where ballers come out to play. Even during the less restricted days of the pandemic, you could easily find 20-30 players waiting in line to play at these courts (though there were number restrictions imposed at that time). I once saw a sheltered court where I counted there were about 50 people waiting around the court to play, most seated in their groups of 5. Today where COVID restrictions are no longer in place, you can expect even bigger crowds at popular locations.
Don’t be too disappointed though! There is a select number of indoor locations that are primarily or solely reserved for basketball in Singapore that you can rent to play or practise here. You’ll need to pay for a booking but that guarantees you and your friends a good location to play in without having to wait or be disappointed when there is stuff going on that is non-basketball related.
Here we have listed our Top 3 Indoor Court Venues for Rental for your reference. Please note that the information here is accurate as of the publishing date of this article.
OCBC Arena
Location: Kallang (Eastern side of Singapore)
Who operates this: Sport Singapore
Opening hours: 7am to 10pm
Open for public booking: Yes
Flooring: Hardwood
Air Conditioned: Yes
Condition: Well-used, but pretty decently maintained as it is used to run the Asean Basketball League (ABL)
USP: Cheap pricing for a competition level venue
Assessment: This venue has 3 indoor basketball courts that you can rent. It is a very popular option due to its relatively low cost (as it is operated by local sporting authority, Sport Singapore). But as a result, it also means that it is difficult to get a booking during peak hours. Non-peak timing is a different story though. The venue is also used for events such as the ABL, Slingers and National Team training so you may not always have access to it.ActiveSG Sports Centres
Location: All around Singapore
Who operates these: Sport Singapore
Opening hours: 8am to 10pm
Open for public booking: Yes (but only limited timings based on ActiveSG programming)
Flooring: Hardwood for some locations
Air Conditioned: Yes for some locations
Condition: Mostly decently maintained
USP: Cheap pricing
Assessment: In terms of pricing, Sport Singapore wins thumbs down as it is a public organization operating on public funds. However, also because of this point, their indoor venues are heavily booked for their public programs and used across different sports or activities. Hence, getting an open booking can be really, really challenging. If you’re looking for last minute bookings (even with a week’s window or even a month), it is near impossible.Shot Zone @ Chai Chee
Location: Bedok (Eastern side of Singapore)
Who operates this: SG Basketball
Opening hours: 8am to 10pm
Open for public booking: Yes
Flooring: Hardwood
Air Conditioned: Yes
Condition: Well-maintained
USP: Complimentary use of Dr Dish and other training equipment
Assessment: Singapore’s best kept secret in the East, this venue offers an indoor location with 4 half-courts (can be used as one full court). Rental comes with complimentary use of training equipment, including Dr Dish, the basketball shooting machine that can catch your shots (made or missed) and make passes to you from the FT line to the 3pt line for solo / group shooting practice. This is something unique as no other venue in Singapore can offer at this point.
Also, as this venue is commercially run, it is much more accessible in terms of booking slots and you can simply log in to SG Basketball’s app (on iOS and Android) and pay for a booking on the spot without much hassle. The price point is higher than the other two options here but you will be paying for value.
There are also other options such as school indoor sports halls (by ActiveSG) and private schools that offer facilities for booking. If you know of other great indoor venues that are open for rental, do let us know so we can add to the list.