TL:DR

The pickleball craze is not showing any signs of dying down, and contractors who can deliver high quality surfaces can charge a premium.

To be honest, Pickleball was not what I set out to write about for this issue. No, it came up to me at the IGNITE Construction Summit and told me about the boom. Or, rather, Ryan Laughlin, President and CEO of PLM, did. Like a lot of people, I was aware of pickleball as a thing that existed, but I had no idea that it had transformed into an economic driving force to be reckoned with. Actually, I might be the odd man out here, because its popularity shows no signs of slowing down.

At first glance, sports surfacing can look deceptively familiar to asphalt and pavement maintenance contractors. The work still starts with a base. It still involves surface preparation, crack repair, coatings, and striping. And in many cases, it involves the same customers contractors already serve: municipalities, schools, HOAs, park districts, and even the odd individual residential request.

But as I learned through my conversation with the team behind the newly launched American Sports Construction, sports surfacing is not just a mere add-on service. It is a specialized market that rewards contractors who understand precision, patience, and process, but it can be punishing for those contractors who try to rush it or treat it like a simple afterthought.

Across the country, pavement contractors are discovering that the same fundamentals they apply to parking lots, roadways, and athletic surfaces can open the door to a rapidly growing market: sports surfacing, and most notably, pickleball courts. For contractors willing to slow down, learn the process, and treat the work as a craft, pickleball courts represent a real opportunity to diversify revenue and deepen customer relationships.

From Humble Curiosity To Staggering BacklogFrom Humble Curiosity To Staggering Backlog

I met Mike Blaney when he was working for Thom Eosso and Eosso Bros. Paving (2024 Pavement Contractor of the Year), and now is vice president of American Sports Construction. Not only could he fully pull off wearing the hell out of a cowboy hat while living in New Jersey, but he was also bringing in so much business through this sector, they decided to spin it off.

“We sort of got into it at the beginning of the rise,” Blaney said. “It was becoming big, and we saw the opportunity here in New Jersey… everyone was having to play.”

What began as court conversions for HOAs quickly expanded.

“All of a sudden, all the parks needed them,” Blaney recalled. “There were just lines at the gates waiting. Park systems are eliminating tennis courts, old splash pads, roller hockey rinks, and putting in pickleball.”

That demand has not slowed. Ryan Laughlin, who first tipped me off to the growing phenomena reiterated the same type of meteoric rise the sector has seen, even outside of the garden state.

“We went from subcontracting two-or-three jobs a year to self-performing twenty jobs in 2025,” Laughlin said. “We did close to $2 million worth of paving and coatings last year.”

Blaney noted that their current backlog includes roughly four times that figure in sport court work under contract.

Three Familiar Paths: New, Rebuild, MaintainThree Familiar Paths: New, Rebuild, Maintain

For pavement contractors considering this market, the good news is that sports courts follow the same lifecycle logic as parking lots. Blaney broke down their work into three verticals, and they sound very familiar to any commercial pavement contractor:

• Brand New Courts
• Reconstructions
• Conversions

When it comes to the first type, it’s just like any other new construction job a paving contractor would do.

“You sometimes start from scratch,” he said. “Grass, dirt, grade it, stone it, pave it. Let it sit for thirty days, then come back and do your coatings and lines.”

The second is reconstruction or conversion. That may involve milling or excavating an existing tennis court or converting a roller hockey rink into multiple pickleball courts.

“You’re reconstructing that by milling it out or excavating and putting back new blacktop,” Blaney said.

The third, and often the entry point for contractors new to sports surfacing, is maintenance and resurfacing. This is where familiar pavement preservation skills apply.

“You’re treating it like a parking lot,” Laughlin said. “Crack repair, resurfacing, conversion. Same track.”

The key difference is precision. On a court, cracks are not cosmetic. They are performance failures.

“If the crack gets too wide, it’s structural,” Laughlin said. “We’re spending $5 a linear foot to fill a crack with acrylic patch binder. We’re spending $30 a linear foot if it’s structural.”

Blaney emphasized that sport court crack repair is not a one-step process, and requires a more careful eye than the version you’d use on a parking lot.

“It’s a five-step crack repair system with fiberglass mesh,” he said. “If you leave a little air bubble on that mesh, you’re going to see it in the final product.”

That attention to detail is what separates sport surfacing from high-production pavement work. This leads to one of the biggest mindset shifts contractors face in this market: the project pacing.

“This is not a rush job,” Blaney said. “Even on the paving side.”

A typical coating sequence includes multiple coats of acrylic resurfacer, interior color, exterior color, and striping. Dry time between each step is critical.

“You’re not turning around these courts in a day,” Laughlin said.

And there is no shortcut on application.

“It’s actually just a cut-off squeegee,” Blaney said. “That’s the only way to apply it.”

Striping is hand-masked. Colors are rolled by hand. Anti-bleed agents are used to keep lines crisp. Every imperfection telegraphs through the finished surface, and when clients pay a premium, the finished result has to reflect that.

“This is a craftsman product when it’s done,” Laughlin said.

The Equipment Is Familiar. The Precision Is Not.The Equipment Is Familiar. The Precision Is Not.

Despite the specialized finish, most contractors already own the core equipment required to build the courts themselves. Any quality paver can do the work.

“You could use anything from a LeeBoy to a Weiler,” Laughlin said. “It’s all about access.”

Fence panels are temporarily removed. Small rollers and vibratory plates are used for compaction. Cleaning and surface prep are critical.

“The power washing and cleaning is huge,” Laughlin said. “It’s got to be spotless.”

For contractors worried about new capital investment, coatings require little more than drums, mixers, squeegees, and disciplined crews. A follow-up article is in the works with the companies that supply the surface coatings, but it’s important to have a conversation with yours before you place an order.

Who’s Buying Sports Courts?Who’s Buying Sports Courts?

HOAs remain a dominant market, but they are far from the only one.

“Parks and schools are [also big buyers],” Laughlin said. “HOAs are right there with them.”

Beyond that, demand is expanding into unexpected places: bars, breweries, resorts, hotels, country clubs, and even some private developments.

“There are pickleball leagues now,” Laughlin said. “People take this very seriously.”

That seriousness is exactly why quality matters.

“If that court starts peeling up, you’re going to have an unhappy customer,” Blaney said.

For contractors, sports surfacing is not just new revenue. It is a new conversation.

“In an industry where asphalt isn’t a sexy product, this pops,” Laughlin said. “It’s an explosion of color. It’s customizable.”

That visual impact gives contractors a reason to re-engage existing customers with something new, while also creating internal pride for crews assigned to the work.

“I want you to be the artist that builds this,” Laughlin said.

Not Saturated. Not Slowing.Not Saturated. Not Slowing.

Pickleball participation continues to grow nationwide, and supply is struggling to keep up.

“It’s not a saturated market,” Laughlin said. “It’s an opportunity.”

For pavement contractors willing to invest in training, patience, and process, sports surfacing is not a side hustle. It is a legitimate expansion lane built on familiar fundamentals.

As Blaney put it, “You just have to slow down and do it right the first time.

My Thoughts 💭My Thoughts 💭

One of the tennis courts around my home was turned into a pickleball court. I am just shocked how fast this sport has taken off. Can it pass tennis? The attention and enthusiasm is crazy.

I played a little it is fun but sheesh it’s starting to become an economic force.