Tennis Courts - cost of a personal court

I'm interested in having a tennis court built in my backyard. Does anyone have experience building their own court (either yourself, or having a company do it for you)?

If so, what did you use, costs, etc?

(i hope a tennis court counts as equipment...wasn't sure where to put this thread)
 

soggyramen

Professional
my parents want a clay court for me in my backyard does anyone know how much that will cost...i'm sure it's more
 

swuster

New User
Clay courts must be constantly serviced, because even a little wind can blow a LOT of clay away from the surface. The price really adds up.
 

brayman9

Semi-Pro
do what my friend did tare up the grass dig a little put in concrete, put up a fake net and stray paint line on. $300.
 

Bogie

Hall of Fame
my coach built a red clay court in his backyard and if i remember correctly, including nice fencing, it will run you about 45-50 grand.
 

rhcolt07

New User
What exactly is a "fake" net?

I'm taking a guess, but I think he means just take a piece of string and put it as high as you want.
Oh and make sure you have good fencing like Bogie said so your balls don't fly all over your neighbor's yards.
 

iplaybetter

Hall of Fame
you are all so lucky my parents would never put a court in my back yard let alone hire the person who is basically my coach as a proper coach
 

volusiano

Hall of Fame
Is there a reason why one would want to shell out more money to build a clay court instead of a hard court? It's more expensive and dirtier and requires more maintenance, isn't it?

I always assumed that clay courts were built because it used to be less expensive than hard courts. And perhaps in the old days, the technology wasn't there to build hard courts more easily. So perhaps people got used to the playing characteristics of the clay courts all this time so it stuck with them. But maybe I'm wrong.
 

Mr. Blond

Professional
I am currently building a new home, and in the process will be adding a hard court in the back yard.

The court construction itself is around 15k for the concrete and surface. The fencing and lighting is around another 15k. The concrete costs so much because you have to do a post tensioned slab, which adds some cost. Post tensioning is essentially like prestressing the concrete to prevent splits from opening up. I am sure the prices vary depending on location and bells and whistles though.
 

Lindros13

Semi-Pro
Someone at my club has a HAR-TRU court (the green clay kind, for those that don't know) at his house in NJ. I don't know his initial cost but he said it cost more than his house when he had it put in! (and he has a pretty nice house.) Granted, the tennis court is spectacular, with nice brickwork around the one side, nice fencing, nice watering system, and the court installation probably required removal of trees and who knows what else. He's also had the court for years so house prices weren't as high as they are now. But again, I don't know what the initial cost was.

I've heard him mention that his annual maintenance cost is about $1,500 per year. He basically pays this to a guy who then takes care of laying down 75 (or so) bags of har-tru each year, rolling it out, putting up the net, nailing down the lines, and any other basic necessay items. If the lines require replacement, there is an additional cost, but not too significant I don't think. His court has a built-in aboveground watering system, of which I don't know the maintenance costs, if any. I've seen some courts that have below-ground watering systems, and I presume these are expensive. I was taking a lesson on a har-tru court in Florida a couple of months ago and the instructor mentioned that it was actually "watering" the court while we were playing! Pretty neat I thought.
 

PlayTheClay

New User
Actually Har-Tru courts cost less than asphalt courts to install in most markets. Where are you guys located? I am in the construction business and can give you some ballpark numbers.
 
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PeakXV

New User
Actually Har-Tru courts cost less than asphalt courts to install in most markets. Where are you guys located? I am in the construction business and can give you some ballpark numbers.

That sounds good because in the NorthEast where I am the Asphalt will crack once the frost & -30c temps get at it .... at least all the roads do. :(

Would be interested in a ballpark breakdown of the costs or percentages. For example.

Surface Preparation - Grading.
Har-Tru Green Goop/Clay
Extras - Nets/Lines/Dragger etc.
Fencing
Lighting
Sprinkler Watering system

Anybody got an idea for approx. figures?
 

gmonfils

Rookie
Har-Tru courts generally cost less then hard courts. In fact if you are doing it yourself then har-tru is the least expensive. Tennis Magazine had an article several years back on one of there writers who built there own court and the price breakdown and how to, etc.
 

austro

Professional
I am contemplating it too but wanted originally a synthetic grass/astro turf one. Basically because it is very easy maintenance and I can't stand HC. My prefered one would be clay because it is just so nice to play on but the maintenance is a major deterrent.

The I played on this artifical clay surface in an indoor place and absolutely loved it. I have found this one on the web:

http://www.classicclay.com/

but am wondering if anyone knows any other suppliers? It seems that you get the best of both worlds with this. Alhtough I might still do the Astro since we have clay courts not too far away...
 

chrisx

New User
There's plenty of room at my grandpa's farm. He's got a tractor and a bunch of other equipment. I was curious if you are willing to do the work yourself, it would be possible to build a clay court...
 

tenniskid3119

Semi-Pro
my parents said they would build one right next to out house 'cause we have a lot next to it, but we dont have the money, it would cost 20 grand; excluding the cost of tearing down the trees and crap.
 

Mr. Blond

Professional
That sounds good because in the NorthEast where I am the Asphalt will crack once the frost & -30c temps get at it .... at least all the roads do. :(

Would be interested in a ballpark breakdown of the costs or percentages. For example.

Surface Preparation - Grading.
Har-Tru Green Goop/Clay
Extras - Nets/Lines/Dragger etc.
Fencing
Lighting
Sprinkler Watering system

Anybody got an idea for approx. figures?

I don't have exact figures on costs of each component yet, but I am about to start construction on my hard court. The slab itselt is unique in the way that it is made. Normal concrete slabs just have reebar (metal rods) running through them to strengthen the concrete. This is all well and fine, but can crack and split. For a tennis court, you must use post tensioned concrete. This is a process of running cables through the concrete before it cures and tensioning the cables to like 30 thousand pounds when the concrete is cured. This keeps the inevitable cracks in the concrete from being visible or destroying the surface.

The post tensioned slab that I will be doing (60 x 120) will cost me right about 13k for the concrete forms, concrete and post tensioning.

The lighting I am not installing now for cost reasons.

The fencing is around 4k unless you decide to put vinyl coated which is much more expensive.

The surfacing cost between 3-7k in my area depending on what type of play characteristics you want. I am installing a slow surface because hard courts speed up over time. Slow surfaces tend to have more longevity.

I know you asked about har-tru, but trust me, the maintenence on them is a bear so hard courts are much more cost effective over time. Unless of course you have someone you can pay to water, repair, brush and pack them everyday.

I hople this helps.
 

PeakXV

New User
Thanks blabit - excellent information. Hardcourts are not out of the question for us yet - and the maintanence free carrot dangling is very alluring.

Also played a couple of years back on the Astro-turf with the sandy pebbles atop at a Hyatt hotel ..... it was enjoyable actually but don't know what kind of a subgrade and/or under surface is required.

Lights are not a necessity and have even toyed with the idea of increasing the court size to 80 by 140 in order to plant a natural cedar hedge around it with fish net or something similar drapped around the inside. The extra 10 feet for root & shadow control - Cedar being free for the digging around these parts ...... anything to get the cost down a few $1000 ;)
 
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Andres

G.O.A.T.
In Argentina, a claycourt costs 25,000 pesos, which are around 8,039 USD. A hardcourt is probably cheaper to build.
 
In Argentina, a claycourt costs 25,000 pesos, which are around 8,039 USD. A hardcourt is probably cheaper to build.

Really ? That cheap ? well it's not cheap comparing the average GDP per capita but it's cheap actually... I wish those prices weren't too off from Portugal either... but I think that is a dream of my own... I want to build a tennis court also here when I get the chance...don't know the costs though... here in Europe...
 
That sounds good because in the NorthEast where I am the Asphalt will crack once the frost & -30c temps get at it .... at least all the roads do. :(

I don't notice the hard courts in the Northeast having cracking problems, and unlike clay/har tru, you can play them on them all winter long as long as there isn't snow or ice on 'em. Never seen anyone play on har-tru in the winter, but people, myself included, play plenty of outdoor tennis on the warmer days on public hard courts. (Thank God for global warming!)

Hard court's tougher on the body though....
 
do what my friend did tare up the grass dig a little put in concrete, put up a fake net and stray paint line on. $300.

Why didn't you just cut the grass to save on the cost of the concrete and have yourself a fancy grass court instead?

Why don't people build more private grass courts? Anyone know the economics and logistics of that?
 

PeakXV

New User
I don't notice the hard courts in the Northeast having cracking problems, and unlike clay/har tru, you can play them on them all winter long as long as there isn't snow or ice on 'em. Never seen anyone play on har-tru in the winter, but people, myself included, play plenty of outdoor tennis on the warmer days on public hard courts. (Thank God for global warming!)

Hard court's tougher on the body though....

With Moisture ..... freezing ..... thawing .....freezing ..... cracks and heaving definitely do happen at times ..... probably best to have an Engineer do some soil testing on the choosen site and/or pray that the temperature/moisture situation doesn't have any major or wild fluxuations that would cause unusual stress on the surface and supporting ground structure.
 

LarougeNY

Professional
Are you guys sure about the prices of a hard court? I kept asking my dad for it a while ago and he said it would cost around 80 grand, maybe more, so I stopped asking (knowing thats a lot of money, and I'm the only person that plays in the family)

Anyone know how much a decent hardcourt with fencing and lights would cost in the north east region, like in NY?
 

ibringtheHEAT

Semi-Pro
My friend's uncle (yeah a little far from me) got a court for just under 50,000 of course this is in Texas where open flat land is all over the place......

I'm sure you could get something for under 60,000 if you have the land........which dependant on where in NY you are might be hard.
 

JZImmer123

Rookie
Awww, I was hoping to get a tennis court built in my backyard (once I get a backyard). I was thinking I wouldn't have to spend more than 5k. So much for that idea. Maybe if I hit the lottery. It could happen!
 
Are you guys sure about the prices of a hard court? I kept asking my dad for it a while ago and he said it would cost around 80 grand, maybe more, so I stopped asking (knowing thats a lot of money, and I'm the only person that plays in the family)

Anyone know how much a decent hardcourt with fencing and lights would cost in the north east region, like in NY?

Around 80 grand, maybe more.
 

JeffCyner

New User
I am going to purchase a property in Sydney within the next 12 months and I will make sure the backyard can accommodate a Tennis Court. For me the best surface is clearly artificial grass as I am going to add some golf holes. In this way I will be able to use the court as my personal putting range. Also I want to be able to raise the net so the court becomes a volleyball court. Or I can remove the net and the court becomes a mini soccer field. Of course you can do this with other surfaces but I don't want my future kids running and falling on a hard court or clay court.

The thought of playing tennis at night is not appealing so I will not install lighting. As for fencing I like the idea of using drop fencing which is so much cheaper and I think looks nice if done correctly. I will not skimp on the rest of the court. Hopefully I can get my wish list done for about $AUD45,000 (about $USD37,000).
 

volusiano

Hall of Fame
I don't notice the hard courts in the Northeast having cracking problems, and unlike clay/har tru, you can play them on them all winter long as long as there isn't snow or ice on 'em. Never seen anyone play on har-tru in the winter, but people, myself included, play plenty of outdoor tennis on the warmer days on public hard courts. (Thank God for global warming!)

Hard court's tougher on the body though....

You meant "Thank human for global warming!"??? lol
 

austro

Professional
I am going to purchase a property in Sydney within the next 12 months and I will make sure the backyard can accommodate a Tennis Court. For me the best surface is clearly artificial grass as I am going to add some golf holes. In this way I will be able to use the court as my personal putting range. Also I want to be able to raise the net so the court becomes a volleyball court. Or I can remove the net and the court becomes a mini soccer field. Of course you can do this with other surfaces but I don't want my future kids running and falling on a hard court or clay court.

The thought of playing tennis at night is not appealing so I will not install lighting. As for fencing I like the idea of using drop fencing which is so much cheaper and I think looks nice if done correctly. I will not skimp on the rest of the court. Hopefully I can get my wish list done for about $AUD45,000 (about $USD37,000).

What is 'drop fencing'?
 
img_home.jpg

Classic Clay sounds really good. Does it really 'slide' like real clay?
ANyone here know?
 
I'm interested in having a tennis court built in my backyard. Does anyone have experience building their own court (either yourself, or having a company do it for you)?

If so, what did you use, costs, etc?

(i hope a tennis court counts as equipment...wasn't sure where to put this thread)

Contact Har - Tru they are great to deal with.
 

raspell38120

New User
img_home.jpg

Classic Clay sounds really good. Does it really 'slide' like real clay?
ANyone here know?


Slice, I am in the process of putting in a court south of Cancun. I was all set to go clay even though the maintenance, language barrier and periods of non-use is a problem. I talked to a pro today who has one Clay Tech court in Georgia and is taking out two courts that he was originally going to go to Hydracourt but instead is using Clay Tech. He says he waters them 4 minutes at night, adds magnesium which really seems to keep them moist. He gave a lesson to a guy from Florida who didn't realize until after the hit that the court was not real clay. That's actually hard to believe. I'm going down to play it May 23.

there are other brands coming to America also. One is NovaCourt and I forget the other one that is from Australia. These courts have been out about 10 years and are catching on. I have not priced it yet but will have in 3 weeks. In a perfect world I would just put down clay. Most people say this new court is a little faster and bounces lower. This pro did not agree with that. He couldn't have been more pleased and talked of groups that prefer it over real clay. The other advantage is the 2 months of winter they have to shut down for freezing. There don't shut down for that. I also talked to a pro at Boulders north of Phoenix. He had good things also to say.

As to court cost, my court in Mexico will cost right at $45,000. That does not include fencing as I am doing something other than fencing included in my home price. Obviously labor is cheaper down there but cost of materials are more expensive. it is somewhat of a trade-off.
 
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raspell, that's a nice testimonial, man, thanks. Definitely keep us posted. I am really, really interested in this. Now to just convince my wife that we do not need a pool.;)
 
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