TIPS FOR BUILDING AN INDOOR COURT
Bill Shaughnessy owns Shaughnessy Sports Construction and has built 85 indoor courts in commercial pickleball clubs and four in private homes. Shaughnessy says indoor courts cost between $ 15,000 and $ 50,000 depending on the surface and amenities, such as wall padding and acoustical equipment.
camera can record the action so players can evaluate themselves.
The court includes a players lounge with a big-screen TV, stationary bike, locker room, dog room, powder room and closet. The indoor pool can also be accessed through adjoining sliding doors. Professional players from all over the country have played there along with countless friends and neighbors.
“ We took a lot of time and did a lot of research on what the ideal court would be,” Eddie notes.“ We decided to take the best attributes of the many indoor facilities we had visited.”
Eddie and Marina are both athletic. He’ s 6 ' 5 " and played college basketball, and coached the sport for 30 years. Marina, 58, was a top platform tennis player. They met in 2021 at a senior pro pickleball tournament in Indianapolis, Indiana, and got married five months later. She is a 4.8-rated pickleball player; Eddie’ s rating is 4.3.
They play on their court four or five times a week, and Marina has advice for anyone thinking about installing an indoor pickleball court:“ Make sure it’ s OK with your HOA and neighbors, and make sure you have plenty of parking because you will be very popular!” •
If you’ ve built a pickleball court inside your home, we’ d love to hear from you! Please email editors @ pickleballmagazine. com.
Matthew Schwartz spent 40 years in television news and won more than 200 awards, including four Emmys and four Edward R. Murrow awards for investigative reporting. His 2020 memoir,“ Confessions of an Investigative Reporter,” was an Amazon # 1 bestseller. He writes a weekly blog for Hudef Sport and plays pickleball six days a week.
Since a pickleball court is 20 feet wide and 44 feet long, the smallest dimensions should be 30 by 60 to provide enough out-of-bounds space. The ceilings should be at least 20 feet high to accommodate lobs.
Contractors should be experienced in building indoor sport courts and knowledgeable about court surfaces, to avoid any problems down the road.
“ There are many types of surfaces that can be used, including plastic sports tiles, free-floating cushion courts, painted concrete surface, or glue-down cushion surfaces that are then painted,” Shaughnessy explains.
“ They all have their pros and cons, but I would recommend the gluedown cushion systems that are painted with acrylic sports paints. Because of the hardness of concrete, it gives a better feel with a consistent ball bounce. The thickness of the cushion recommended is 4 to 6 millimeters.” •
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