Acrylic pickleball court
An acrylic pickleball court is a concrete or asphalt pad with thin layers of colored coating on top. Our price tool estimates $12,400 to $31,900 for one acrylic-coated concrete court on a 30-by-60-foot pad, using US-average prices. That includes site preparation, the slab, coating, lines, and net and posts, but not fencing or lighting. Most of that budget pays for the ground and the slab rather than the coating, so it pays to understand the full build before you start comparing quotes.
What goes under the acrylic?
The marked playing area measures 20 by 44 feet, and a pad of 30 by 60 feet gives players room to move around it. Many builders like a slightly bigger pad measuring 34 by 64 feet, and Pinnacle Sports Group recommends pointing the court north to south.
The ground gets graded at a 1% slope, a very slight tilt so rainwater flows away, and nothing nearby should drain toward the court. A rebar slab has steel bars laid out in a grid of 24 by 24 inches or 36 by 36 inches, whereas a post-tension slab, held tight by steel cables, costs roughly double.
New concrete needs 30 to 45 days to cure before the acrylic surface is applied.
Pickleball court paint
SportMaster's PickleMaster system offers 17 standard colors, while the ready-to-use version offers 8, and the ColorPlus pigment used to tint the layers offers 16, so you can choose one color for the kitchen, another for the court and a third for the surround.
A basic hard color system with no cushioning will set you back somewhere around fifty cents to a dollar for each square foot, installed, which makes the coating a small slice of the total bill.
Coating a court involves 4 steps: get the slab ready, put down a resurfacer, apply the color, then paint the lines. The full job usually takes 2 to 4 days and calls for weather above 50°F.
Minor flaws are repaired before any color is applied. Acrylic Patch Binder takes care of shallow dips as deep as 1/2 inch, and Acrylic Crack Patch takes care of cracks as wide as 1 inch.
Hard or cushioned acrylic?
With a hard court you get the resurfacer and then the color coats on top. Cushioned acrylic is another option, with an installed surface cost of $2 to $4 per square foot, compared with $0.50 to $1 for standard acrylic.
The standard ProCushion system includes 1 to 2 coats of Acrylic Resurfacer, 3 coats of CushionMaster II, 2 coats of CushionMaster I, and 2 to 3 coats of PickleMaster with ColorPlus pigment. The premium version goes further, with 5 coats of CushionMaster II.
Cushioning pushes the surface price up to somewhere around $2 to $4 per square foot installed. On a single court that brings the total to roughly $15,100 to $37,300 rather than $12,400 to $31,900, so you pay a few thousand dollars more on a build that otherwise costs about the same.
Acrylic court cost by size and base
Here is what courts set next to each other on pads of 30 by 60 feet tend to cost across the US, with the site work, the pad itself, the playing surface, the lines, and the net and posts all included. Things like fencing and lighting are not part of these figures.
| Surface type | Single court | Two courts | Four courts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Concrete with paint | $12,400–$31,900 | $24,800–$63,800 | $49,600–$127,600 |
| Concrete with cushioned acrylic | $15,100–$37,300 | $30,200–$74,600 | $60,400–$149,200 |
| Asphalt with paint | $8,800–$26,500 | $17,600–$53,000 | $35,200–$106,000 |
Break down one painted concrete court and the money splits like this: $2,000 to $10,000 for site preparation and grading, $9,000 to $18,000 for the slab, $900 to $1,800 for the acrylic surface, $200 to $600 for lines, and $300 to $1,500 for the net and posts. If you also want a fence around one pad, plan on another $1,800 to $6,300, and lights will add $5,000 to $10,000, which takes the full project to $19,200 to $48,200.
Costs vary a bit from state to state. Iowa has the lowest prices, where a single painted concrete court comes in around $11,600 to $29,800, while Hawaii, the priciest, sits around $13,200 to $34,100. Texas falls near $12,200 to $31,300, and in California you would pay close to $12,900 to $33,300.
Looking after the surface
Plan to repaint an acrylic court every 3 to 5 years.
Getting a standard court resurfaced will usually run somewhere around $1,500 to $3,500, while a pair of courts comes in around $3,000 to $7,000 and four courts around $6,000 to $14,000. If a tennis court is already on your property, turning it into 4 pickleball courts costs around $5,000 to $20,000.
How does acrylic stack up against tiles?
Snap-together tiles are laid over a 4 inch rebar slab, and a tile court measuring 30 by 60 feet can go down in 1 day, versus 2 to 4 days of coating work for acrylic. SnapSports PickleGrip tiles carry a 16 year limited warranty and offer 14% more cushioning than a hard acrylic surface.
The catch is the price. One tile court on concrete costs about $18,700 to $60,700, roughly $10 to $34 per square foot, while painted concrete comes in closer to $7 to $18 per square foot. Acrylic takes longer to install and needs repainting every 3 to 5 years, but it costs far less up front.
Where to go from here: get a price for your court or see who builds courts in your state.