How Much Does Building a Racquetball Court Cost?

Even though racquetball is very similar to a lot of other racket sports like tennis, there is a big difference between it and some of the other racket sports. That’s because you have to play the sport on an indoor court that’s surrounded by walls. As such, it doesn’t make use of the same outdoor court that’s used in tennis. So, with that said, how much does it cost to build a racquetball court?

A common racquetball court will cost you somewhere between $30 to $40 per square foot. And if you were to build one at home and hired a contractor to do so, you may end up spending up to $100,000 for one, but it is still possible to spend around $40,000 depending on the type of court you want.

With that said, building a racquetball court is not cheap because this can potentially cost you six figures at the max. Then again, you can still end up spending half of that price, depending on certain factors. There are even DIY projects that can keep the expenses at a minimum. But the point here is that a racquetball court is an expensive project that needs good funding.

Racquetball court overview

When you are looking to construct a racquetball court, it is important for you to know more about what a racquetball court actually is because this is what best differentiates it from other racket sports that make use of outdoor courts that are larger and more spacious.

A regular racquetball court should be a rectangular court that’s fully enclosed and must have a front wall. The standard court should be 40 x 20 x 20 feet in length, width, and height. You also have the choice of constructing it indoors or outdoors, but the fact remains that it should be fully enclosed especially if you are talking about the standard racquetball court.

There are variations of the racquetball court that don’t meet the standards of what a racquetball court should be. Such variations are often constructed for casual play or for recreational purposes. But, in terms of competition, these racquetball court variations won’t meet the criteria for what a standard court should be.

Some racquetball court variations may have side walls that don’t fully extend throughout the entire length of the court. There are also cases where there are only one or two side walls, such as when the court is enclosed in all areas except for one side wall. These courts, due to how they lack one or all side walls, are usually more affordable than the standard racquetball court.

Given that the racquetball court is not a small court, you are going to have to estimate the costs of constructing a standard racquetball court based on its dimensions. Of course, you also have to base the expenses on the materials you are going to be using because the rules aren’t really strict when it comes to the materials you should be using for the court.

In some cases, the floor materials can vary from bricks to metal-based sidings. It really depends on your choice, but you may be able to use materials that are cheaper so long as they still fit the standards.

Again, you have different options when you want to construct a racquetball court because you can use a standard fully-enclosed court, a short three-wall court, or a long three-wall court. But the fact is that the dimensions should always be 40 x 20 x 20. The side walls or the lack thereof should be the only factors that may vary.

How much to build a racquetball court?

Now that you know more about what a racquetball court should be and how its usual standards can very well factor into the overall price of the project let’s now look at a rough estimate of how much it would cost most people to build a racquetball court.

If you are looking to have a contractor build the court for you, then the first thing you need to look at is whether or not you are looking to build it indoors or outdoors. Indoor racquetball courts should be more expensive than outdoor ones because of the lack of natural lighting.

When you want to build an indoor racquetball court, it is safe to assume that you would probably end up spending around $30 to $40 per square foot, especially if you want to solidify your court with concrete supported by steel frame. The concrete material and the steel frame will make your racquetball court sturdier and less likely to budge against the elements.

If you are building the court in your own home or property, the good news is that you no longer have to spend money on finding land to build the court on. Then again, you would probably still spend money to clear the land if you want to set the foundations for the court. 

In most cases, a maximum of 1,000 square feet of concrete would be needed for the floor. Meanwhile, if you are going to go for a fully enclosed racquetball court, you might end up spending about 2,500 square feet of concrete.

So, by using the figures above in relation to how much money you would have to spend per square foot on a fully enclosed racquetball court, you might have to shell out a total of almost $100,000. And that doesn’t even include extra expenses like painting, fencing, and lighting. Factoring in those expenses may very well add an extra $10,000 or so.

Then again, depending on the materials you used and on how solid the foundations are, you may be able to cut half of the price and spend a total of somewhere close to $40,000. However, this is already a cheap court that probably doesn’t have the same solid foundation and materials that a more expensive racquetball court has.

Moreover, if you want to cut down on expenses, you might want to choose a court with fewer walls. You can go for a three-wall variation or even a variation that lacks the side walls so that you can save money. However, keep in mind that spending for a cheaper variation would mean that the experience won’t be the same as an actual racquetball court.

There are DIY projects that can save you a ton of money if you use repurposed materials for the walls and the flooring of your racquetball court. If you were to do so, you might not even spend more than $10,000 for the entire project as long as you know how to construct your own court and that you have a way of obtaining repurposed materials.

Still, a DIY racquetball court probably won’t have the same kind of quality assurance as an actual standard racquetball court constructed in accordance with the right specifications. This all means that, yes, a racquetball court is an expensive project.