I'm not sure where to put this, mods feel free to move if there is a more appropriate forum.
Has anyone ever started a tennis club? And I mean from scratch. Need to acquire the land, build the courts, in a northern climate think about some form of facility, build accessory features(gym, etc.). And of course, beforehand do research to figure out if it's viable, what kind of pricing strategy, etc.
Curious if anyone here has ever been in involved, and what kind of pitfalls and successes may have been had.
Not an expert on this, but have loosely been involved in some. I can tell you it is similar to any start up business: you need financing, a business plan, and if you are looking to have a high end club one with a mission statement and clear goal in place etc. So, naturally lots of questions need to be answered: What does your market look like (How many other facilities etc)? The USTA I believe can help with this, otherwise it is a matter of really scouting. How many courts do you want, and what type? Clay is desirable and easy if taken care of, Hard is easy to maintain but they need to be resurfaced every 7-10 years, Grass is hard to maintain but looks elite. A Northern Climate would need an indoor facility that can hold up to Snow. What is your membership going to consist of? Families? Juniors? Lots of women programs? Mens programs? Everything? How will you collect fees and sustain the club? What other programs will you run (pool, gym, locker rooms, spa etc). What would your membership goal number be? How many pro's do you want? Are you planning to manage yourself? A proton is always a nice addition but you will need to work with brands or a local shop to supply it. Will you offer stringing services? You need to consider website and social media exposure, unless you have someone to design this you will have to pay to have it happen.
Additionally during construction you may have to go through zoning challenges, city or county councils, regulations with town halls, hire an architect and attorney, obtain building permits, fire permits and go through a multitude of construction and maintenance head aches. An indoor facility would come with all kinds of energy costs. I have seen situations where the neighborhood regulates the color of the courts or the clubhouse, and it has cost money not anticipated on the front end. You have to be prepared to pay all kinds of taxes from the land you work on to the sales you make, and in some states based on the amount of people you hire have regulations to deal with with regards to the local labor code.
I think the pitfalls are relative to any business that might already be out there. But for new I have seen some placed in some areas because the land was cheap but the accessibility poor, so they never were able to maintain members. I saw a situation where someone was doing it on their own and were there basically 24/7. Its a FT gig, and the biggest expense you control is payroll once the doors are open.
Overall I would say that clubs are not big money makers, but if you can get into a market thats lacking and have financial support it could be worthwhile. Most clubs are volunteer run (as part of neighborhoods etc), public, or were formed out of a trust and are supported that way (high end country clubs). The few that do well on their own I have found have a good array of programs run by a manager who knows how to hustle people in there and cater to a wide gamut of players. These kind of managers cost money and the pro's associated with them are usually ex-ATP/WTA players.
