Nesting With Grace

by Brooke Christen

Backyard Sports Court- FAQ

July 17, 2022

When we were deciding on our layout for our backyard Kevin and I both really wanted to create a space where we could host friends, and family. A place where the kids could be active and want to bring their friends. A place they felt comfortable, that was safe and a place for lots of fun! All of us knew we would enjoy a basketball court, pickleball court and even a futsol (soccer). After discussing the layout with our landscapers we found the perfect spot for the sports court and luckily we had just enough space in our backyard!

Sports Court Before

When we bought this 1970’s home, this area was covered with smaller trees, like a mini forest with a path to walk through. I am sure it was magical in its time. But we wanted the area for sports and family games.

Sports Court

And the after! Lots of changes with the house painted black, and landscaping. I still need to share a full tour of all the outdoor changes, more to come on that. Our yard is about an acre, so we had space for this court, while having grass space and a pool (see the pool area here).

Cost and Size

After removing trees and prepping the area, we had a concrete slab poured by our Landscape company, they did the fence and everything besides the court (they don’t have a website, it is LMS Landscape, Tom (801) 671-9063). We only had a certain amount of space to work with, our slab is 25 feet wide by 50 feet long. This gave us just enough room to put in a regulation pickleball court and a basketball court with a regulation three point line. The cost of the court tiles were $5 per square foot which included installation. Between the concrete, tiles, basketball hoop, net, fence and light the total price came in around $15k (we did it all at once with our landscape company so it was a little less a year ago).

Court Material

After researching we decided to go with Snapsports, we liked that the product was made in the USA, they install it and they have pickleball specific tiles and they give you the option to design your court online. We went with their Outdoor Revolution line that was made for OUTDOOR pickleball, basketball and multi sports. It has a high-grip surface, which gives better ball bounce, and better traction in damp conditions. We really haven’t noticed the court being too slippery or too hot on hot days. Almost 11 months playing sports on it, and we have been so happy with it! Rain and snow don’t get trapped under the tiles.

After creating our design online and speaking with a Snapsports rep we were ready to go. Much like our garage floor, we simply designed what we wanted it to look like, then ordered what we would need. Snapsport installed the court, they had a crew of guys that knew exactly how to layout the tiles and paint the design. It took only a few hours for them to install.

Basketball Hoop

We love the basketball hoop we picked! It is adjustable up to 10 feet. My favorite part is that our 6 year old, Finn, can lower it by himself without the help of anyone.

Pickleball Net

Our pickleball post is permanent, making the net quick to put up and take down. There are options to have a net that is on wheels but we preferred to have a net on a post that we can remove completely from the court if we wanted.

Pickleball Paddles

Pickleball paddles and balls– have done well in the weather and with lots of kids using and abusing them. We liked that we can easily take this set with us when we travel too, in hopes of always finding a court!

Seating

Once we had friends over we realized that we didn’t really have a place for people to sit during the games, so I found a park bench. We can pick it up and move it. We will also just pull over more outdoor chairs if we need more seats, which is often! We have hosted many pickleball tournaments.

Equipment Storage

We needed a place to store all the items, and we didn’t want anything too bulky on the court. We found a cart that does the trick, it holds all we need and doesn’t take up too much room in the corner. We leave it out all summer and fall, but put it in garage in the winter.

Fence

Our landscapers add a small 3 foot fence around three sides of the court and a 10 foot fence behind the hoop. We could had gone a bit higher on the lower sections but I didn’t want it to feel like a closed space. That being said, we have a lot of pickleball, we just gather them up after a game.

Lighting

We had a large light put in, it has been great to extend the time we can play. It doesn’t shine on neighbors and really isn’t noticeable or too bright from inside the house. We didn’t want to put the light right behind the basketball hoop or it would have been too bright in our eyes, and we didn’t want it to interfere with the house aesthetics. So it ended up on one side of the court. It can be a disadvantage playing pickleball, so we rotate sides halfway through. Looking back, another option for light could be a street lamp.

We just installed these Edison string lights. Kevin attached them to the fence with zip ties. They add a lot to the ambiance, although not bright enough to play pickleball.

We have had so much fun with these areas of our yard and really love the look and how it turned out! There is nothing better than having friends and family over for some fun and friendly competition.

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