How Apps Are Keeping Up With North America’s Growing Sports Craze

This summer, your local community centre or sports complex might be more crowded than usual, and not just with weekend warriors. Across North America, certain sports are experiencing explosive growth, with facility operators hustling to meet demand. Whether it’s basketball in Los Angeles or the pickleball craze sweeping through New York City, one thing is clear: demand is outpacing supply.

In cities like Toronto and Boston, basketball and hockey dominate the rec scene, with leagues and drop-in games often fully booked days in advance. Chicago is seeing a surge in volleyball enthusiasts, and in NYC, urban dwellers are embracing pickleball and volleyball with such intensity that court availability is starting to mirror that of restaurant reservations.

All this raises a critical question: how do you scale access to sports when physical space is limited?

Sports tech startups have been tackling this challenge for the last few years, with one standout seeing tremendous success, thanks in part to a partnership with Sports Illustrated. CatchCorner, the leading app for booking sports facilities by the hour, has made a major impact by providing users with an easy, efficient way to find and rent out venues. With almost 300,000 users and thousands of 5-star reviews on the App Store and Google Play, it’s become the go-to platform for athletes and teams, providing effortless bookings that are as easy as hailing a ride or ordering food.

But CatchCorner’s success isn’t just in its seamless user experience. It’s also rooted in a thoughtful, data-informed strategy by its founders, siblings Jonathan and Maya Azouri. Instead of taking a one-size-fits-all approach, the startup focuses on building city-specific partnerships, prioritizing the sports that are seeing the most momentum in each of the 15 markets it currently serves.

The app is already partnered with some of the biggest names in the business, from TOCA Football, a leader in soccer training, to FMC Ice Sports and The Rinks in California, giving users access to premium venues without the friction of calling or emailing to reserve.

Five years after pandemic lockdowns left many sports facilities sitting empty and losing revenue, the landscape has flipped — at least for some. Today, certain venues are overwhelmed with demand, fully booked for weeks at a time. Others, however, are still working to recover, struggling to fill time slots and attract consistent foot traffic in a market that’s rapidly evolving.

Pickleball, for instance, has gone from niche pastime to urban obsession practically overnight. In cities like New York, gym operators are converting rooftop spaces and underused basketball courts to meet the need.

Meanwhile, soccer is making quiet but noticeable gains in southern US cities. In Dallas, CatchCorner is already eyeing strategic partnerships with soccer venues like City Futsal in anticipation of a summer rush.

For anyone who’s ever texted five friends, called two gyms, and still ended up shooting hoops at a double-rimmed net in the cold, this shift is a game-changer. What used to feel like a scavenger hunt just to find an open court is now as easy as ordering takeout. And on the flip side, facilities are seeing more bookings, more visibility, and way fewer no-shows.

The bottom line is that demand for recreational sports is rising along with the temperatures, and many facilities are still figuring out how to keep up. From hockey in Toronto and pickleball in New York, the landscape looks different in every city. It’s platforms like CatchCorner that are making it easier for players to find the right venue and for those businesses to stay busy.

So, whether you’re chasing a puck or a pickleball, at least now you know where to book it.