How to Make a Racquetball Court? (Step-By-Step)

The thing you need to know about racquetball is that it has a court that is not like most other racket sports. Like squash, racquetball requires a fully enclosed court with dimensions of 40 x 20 x 20. Considering that you can’t play racquetball in a place other than a racquetball court, it might be a good investment to try to build a racquetball court on your own property. So, how do you make a racquetball court?

Before building a racquetball court, you have to decide which is between an indoor or an outdoor court. From there, you have to build the floor foundations, which can be made from panels that depend on your material choice. The foundations on the wall should be next before you build the surrounding walls.

The good thing about a racquetball court is that it has dimensions and specifications that aren’t really very complicated to the point that those who have experience in construction can easily make this court. Then again, you still need to know the proper dimensions and the best materials to use for your racquetball court to build a good one.

Is it better to build an indoor or outdoor racquetball court?

Unlike other racket sports that only make use of a wall-less court, racquetball isn’t the most accessible sport to play because of how it requires a fully enclosed court that’s surrounded by walls. As such, those who want to play racquetball can only play in a racquetball court.

In that regard, because there are plenty of different racquetball players in the country, it might be interesting to have a racquetball court built as a business or for your own personal use in case you want to invite friends over to play with you.

So, if you want to have a racquetball built on your own property or in case you want to build your own racquetball court, it is important to first decide where you want to build your racquetball court as you can build it either indoors or outdoors.

The good thing about building a racquetball indoors is that you basically have the foundations set already, especially if there is a huge unused area in your home or in a building you own. From there, all you need to do is to set the flooring and the walls to complete your court.

However, it might also be a good idea to have a racquetball court built outdoors, especially if you have a yard that’s particularly spacious. Having a racquetball court built outdoors can also give you options on how you want your racquetball court to look.

That said, the choice of which between indoor racquetball court or an outdoor racquetball court is better is actually entirely up to you. Neither of these choices is better than the other as they do have their own unique advantages.

Of course, a lot of people prefer to build outdoor racquetball courts because of how it is more likely that they have a larger outdoor space than a spacious indoor space.

Building a racquetball court outdoors can also give you the option of constructing your own budget-friendly racquetball court if you don’t want to spend a lot of money on this project.

How much will it cost to make a racquetball court?

Another thing you need to look at before you construct a racquetball court is the possible expenses that you need to shell out along the way. While there is no clear way for us to determine how much a racquetball court will cost, let’s look at a quick estimation.

Now, you probably already know that a racquetball court is supposed to be an enclosed 40 x 20 x 20 space that can be built outdoors or indoors. Going for an indoor court might be more expensive because you would have to construct a fully enclosed court that uses indoor lighting. Meanwhile, an outdoor court can be budget-friendly and can rely on natural outdoor lighting.

Regardless of which indoor or outdoor court you prefer, it is safe to assume that you might end up spending around $30 to $40 per square foot. This may only be a rough estimation, but it isn’t a budget-friendly one, especially if you hire a contractor to build the court for you.

Now, flooring is the first thing you need to think of when it comes to expenses. In most cases, the flooring will require around 1,000 square feet of concrete or wood, depending on which material you want to use. Meanwhile, if you want a fully enclosed court, the total might be around 2,500 square feet of concrete.

So, if we went by $40 per square foot, you would probably end up spending around $100,000 to have a racquetball court built on your property. And this doesn’t even include expenses for lighting, electricity, and painting.

But, in some cases, you might still be able to save money by choosing cheaper materials and by decreasing the walls of your racquetball court.

There are some racquetball court variations that only have two or three walls and no ceiling. If you choose that route, you might end up spending around $40,000.

How to make a racquetball court?

Regardless of whether you are building your own racquetball court or hiring someone to build the court for you, here’s a quick rundown of the specifications of a racquetball court.

1. The foundation of the flooring should be the first thing you need to construct. You can use concrete panels for the flooring, but we recommend that you use athletic wood panels because of how this material can give you a better athletic experience.
2. In most cases, you can have a frame built right under the flooring to serve as the foundation for your racquetball court. The frame can be made of either steel or wood. From there, the concrete or wooden panels can be built on top of the frame. 
3. Remember that the dimensions should be 40 feet long and 20 feet wide, but it is important to leave 3 inches of spare space on each side because that is where the walls would be constructed on.
4. In most cases, steel frames will be built around the flooring so that the frames will serve as the foundation for the walls. But there are some contractors that make use of special panels that no longer need frames.
5. You could build the steel frame only around three sides while leaving the back wall and the ceiling open.
6. If you went with the steel-frames route, then you would have to lay the concrete bricks on the steel frame and make sure that all spaces are covered.
7. For the ceiling and the back wall, you can make use of fiberglass panels. The purpose of a fiberglass back wall is to make it easier for you to build an entrance. Meanwhile, a fiberglass ceiling will allow you to use natural lighting (in case you build an outdoor court) to your advantage.
8. Lay the fiberglass panels after the concrete bricks have been laid throughout the steel frames.
9. The door or the entrance should also be made using fiberglass so that it would fit in nicely with the fiberglass back wall.
10. After that, it is now safe to draw the lines on the floor of the racquetball court to finish up your basic racquetball court.