Brisbane's fitness culture flexes: participation data reveals a city in motion

Brisbane's sports facilities are busier than ever, according to participation data collected across the city's network of council-run and community sport venues. The data, compiled by Brisbane City Council and shared with The Daily Brisbane this week, shows a 12 percent increase in booked facility use over the past 12 months, with 1.4 million individual session bookings recorded in the 2025-26 financial year.

Where Brisbane is moving

The numbers point to a clear trend: team sports are holding steady, but individual and informal fitness activities are surging. Evening court hire at venues like the Fortitude Valley Community Centre and the Hibiscus Sports Complex in Upper Mount Gravatt jumped 22 percent year-on-year, with badminton, pickleball and basketball driving much of the growth. The strongest single-month booking spike came in March 2026, just after the end of summer holidays, when more than 130,000 hours of court and field space were reserved across 45 city locations.

Council data also tracks usage at its nine major aquatic centres, including the Spring Hill Reservoir pool and the Manly War Memorial Pool. Combined lap-swim visits reached 412,000 in the first six months of 2026, a 9 percent rise compared to the same period in 2025. Water-based fitness classes, particularly deep-water running and aqua aerobics, grew 15 percent in that window, according to the council's recreation division.

What the shift means for facilities

The change in demand is putting pressure on the city's existing stock of sports infrastructure. Soccer fields at complexes such as the Dunmore Park precinct in Chermside are often double-booked on weekends, while indoor centre operators report that prime evening slots at venues like the Carrara Indoor Sports Centre are booked out 14 days in advance. The council is planning to open a new multi-purpose community sports hub in the outer-northern suburb of Strathpine by late 2027, but current projections suggest it could fill to 80 percent capacity within its first year based on existing booking patterns.

Participation data also reveals a sharp uptick in women's and girls' sport. Female team registrations across netball, AFL Women's and rugby union at Brisbane clubs rose 18 percent from 2024 to 2025. Netball Queensland, which leases courts at council facilities like the Downey Park Netball Association complex, said it recorded a 14 percent increase in court bookings from women's and girls' community competitions over the past 12 months. The council's own survey of 2,300 residents, conducted in April 2026, found that 47 percent of women cited 'feeling welcome and safe' as the top factor in choosing a venue for regular physical activity.

For everyday fitness goers, the trend means competition for court time and pitch space is unlikely to ease soon. The council advises residents to book slots online up to seven days in advance and to consider off-peak weekday morning slots, which remain the least-used time blocks across the entire network. A trial program rolling out at the Colmslie Recreation Reserve in Morningside this August will extend evening opening hours to 10pm on weeknights, in direct response to the data showing strong after-work demand. The move signals that while Brisbane's fitness culture is clearly growing, the infrastructure race is only just beginning.