Bishan Badminton Hall: Olympic Venue With Courts From S$3.50

Bishan Sport Hall is a public ActiveSG hall in the middle of Bishan town, and it is one of the few neighbourhood badminton halls in Singapore with real sporting history. It hosted the gymnastics competition of the 2010 Youth Olympic Games, and today residents book its courts by the hour through ActiveSG at some of the lowest public rates on the island. It opens every day from 7am to 10pm, and it is a short walk from Bishan MRT and Junction 8.

The hall is part of the Bishan Sports and Recreation Centre, the cluster that also holds Bishan Stadium and the swimming complex. It is an existing venue rather than one built for a single event, and it was renovated in 2009 to prepare for the first Youth Olympic Games. During those Games in August 2010 it staged artistic, rhythmic and trampoline gymnastics in front of crowds of up to 1,920 spectators, the capacity listed for the hall.

Once the Olympic equipment left, the hall went back to everyday community use. Today it is managed by Bishan Sport Centre under ActiveSG, the national sports movement run by Sport Singapore, and its floor is booked for badminton and table tennis rather than vaults and beams. Walking in for an ordinary evening game, it is easy to forget that the same space once held an Olympic competition, but the scale of the building and the stands still give it a bigger feel than most school halls.

All badminton bookings at Bishan go through ActiveSG. The facility page lists badminton and table tennis courts for booking, and you reserve a slot by the hour per court on the ActiveSG app or website. The national booking rules allow two slots per day per user for badminton and other court sports, regardless of the slot timing. That rule stops a single person from holding a whole evening of courts, so a doubles group that wants two hours usually splits the bookings between two members. Courts are popular after work, so it pays to plan your week and book as soon as the slot you want appears in the app.

Bookings are tied to your ActiveSG account, and the rules make clear that hirers cannot assign, sublet or resell a booking without written consent. Onsite checks can take place, so the person who booked should be there with identification and the booking receipt. Hirers are also expected to stay off the court until their slot begins and to leave promptly when it ends, which keeps changeovers smooth on busy nights.

ActiveSG publishes a single national rate table, and Bishan follows it. A badminton court costs S$3.50 an hour at non-peak times and S$7.40 an hour at peak times for Singapore Citizens and Permanent Residents. The standard rate for other users is S$4.60 at non-peak times and S$9.70 at peak times. Those prices are per court, so four players sharing a peak-hour doubles court as citizens pay under S$2 each.

Seniors get further help. ActiveSG grants a Senior Citizen Family Concession on badminton courts from Monday to Friday between 7am and 6pm, excluding public holidays, covering a senior and the immediate family members who play with them. For retirees or anyone playing with parents or grandparents, a weekday daytime session at Bishan is about as cheap as organised sport gets in Singapore.

The ActiveSG rules apply across every sport hall. Only non-marking shoes may be worn inside the hall, and all users must wear appropriate sports attire. Food and drinks are not allowed inside the facility, so finish your meal before arriving and leave snacks in your bag. Pets, smoking and alcohol are all prohibited, and coaching, personal training or league operations need prior written approval, so an informal game between friends is fine but a paid lesson is not.

Lockers must be cleared by the end of operating hours, because items left overnight are removed. Unauthorised filming or photography in the hall is not permitted, which matters if you were hoping to record your technique. On the practical side, bring your own rackets and shuttles, as the hall operates as a court-hire facility. ActiveSG's facility page also lists a temporary closure of the entire facility on 26 October 2026, so plan around that date.

The easiest refuel is at Junction 8, the shopping mall at 9 Bishan Place above Bishan MRT, which has a food court, cafes and a supermarket. Bishan Stadium and the swimming complex sit right next to the hall, so many locals pair badminton with a swim or a few laps of the track on the same visit. On busy weekend evenings, give yourself extra time for the walk from the MRT so you reach the hall before your slot begins.

For a longer walk, Bishan-Ang Mo Kio Park is a short ride north. The park is famous for the stretch of the Kallang River that was turned from a concrete canal into a natural, winding river, and its meadows and footpaths are lovely in the early evening. The housing estates around Bishan Street 13 and Bishan Street 22 also have kopitiams for a late kopi and a plate of noodles.

Address: Bishan Sport Hall, 5 Bishan Street 14, Singapore 579783. Hours: daily 7am to 10pm. Phone: +65 6352 6631. Courts: badminton and table tennis by ActiveSG booking. Rates per court per hour: S$3.50 non-peak and S$7.40 peak for citizens and PRs, S$4.60 and S$9.70 at the standard rate. Booking quota: two slots per day per user.

The nearest MRT station is Bishan on the North-South and Circle lines, around ten minutes away on foot. Book on the ActiveSG app, bring non-marking shoes, your own racket and shuttles, and a water bottle. The hall is closed for the whole day on 26 October 2026. For the best value, seniors and their families can use the weekday daytime concession, and everyone else gets the lowest price at non-peak times.