How much does it cost to build a padel court?

UK: the LTA's figures

The Lawn Tennis Association publishes typical build costs for outdoor padel courts. They split into the court with lights, and the ring beam, base and drainage underneath it. The LTA's overall range is £60,000 to £270,000 depending on the number of courts; the page does not say whether VAT is included.

Source: LTA Padel, padel construction.

UK retailers and directories land in a similar place: Padel Market quotes £45,000–£80,000 for an outdoor court including groundworks, frame, glass, turf and lighting.

Spain and the eurozone

Spanish manufacturers list the court itself from about €15,000 to €20,000 before VAT: AdPadel from €15,690 (standard), €17,350 ("Plus") and €19,000 (panoramic), plus roughly €4,000 for installation; PadelMagic €15,000–€20,000 including glass, turf and eight LED floodlights, but not the base or civil works.

Installed prices are higher: AFP Courts quotes €18,000–€25,000 installed. The German Tennis Association (DTB) put a court at €30,000–€40,000 plus €15,000–€25,000 for the foundation (2022).

United States

Miami installer US Padel Court Builders quotes $30,000–$50,000 for the court system and about $50,000 for a full project on an existing base, rising to around $100,000 with a new foundation. Manufacturer PadelStructure puts a finished outdoor court at $65,000–$120,000.

What else goes into the budget

The headline court price usually excludes the things that vary most from site to site. MejorSet, for example, states that its price excludes transport, installation, machinery and ground preparation.

Base, ring beam and drainage

LTA: £35,000 for one court. A Spanish maker quotes a slab at about €7,000–€8,000; US installers $15,000–$50,000.

LED floodlights

Typically 8 LEDs on 4 poles: €2,000–€5,000 per court (Planet Power, Spain); $8,000–$18,000 quoted in the US.

Canopy

LTA: about £75,000 for one court (£25,000 foundation + £50,000 canopy), £220,000 for four. A Dutch supplier lists a single-court dome at €48,000 excluding VAT and installation.

Planning and permits

LTA: planning permission is usually required, and always for a canopy or indoor structure. UK estimates run from £500 to £5,000; US $2,000–$12,000+.

Turf replacement

Every 5–10 years depending on use and whether the court is indoors; €4,000–€8,000 per court (I-Padel, NL).

Yearly maintenance

From about £400–£500 (Padel Market, UK) to €2,000 or more, depending on what is included.

Space and timeline

The playing area is 20 × 10 metres. The LTA specifies an enclosure 4 metres high (3 m solid, 1 m mesh) and at least 1.5 metres between courts; manufacturers recommend at least 8 metres of clear height indoors.

Manufacturing takes about four weeks at MejorSet (longer for coastal sites or custom colours), with installation at two to three days per court. The long part is everything before that: Padel Market puts a whole UK project at three to six months, with planning decisions commonly taking 8 to 13 weeks.

Paying it back: the number that matters

The LTA reports an average off-peak booking of £7 per person per hour — about £27 per court-hour. At that rate, the LTA's £71,000 single court needs roughly 2,600 booked off-peak hours to cover construction alone, before staff, energy, turf and software. Peak-time prices in London are often much higher.

That is why operators track revenue per available court hour (RevPACH) rather than just occupancy: an empty prime-time slot or a no-show costs the same as a day of debt service. In our data, 57% of cancellations happen in the last 24 hours, when the slot can rarely be resold.

Two things protect the payback period from day one: take payment when the court is booked, and make it easy for players to fill an open slot. See how Playmore runs padel clubs.