Inside the growing sports surfaces market

By Emma Peterson. 

A special CoatingsTalk® recorded in the field explores how changing recreation trends are reshaping the athletic surfaces market. 

In a special live from the jobsite CoatingsTalk®, Heidi J. Ellsworth got the chance to meet up with Weston Ready, the president of Texas-based CourTex Construction, on one of his company’s coating projects. As Weston’s team finished up installing a California Sports Surfaces’ coating (Plexipave®), Heidi got to pick his brain about the growing sports surfaces niche and the unique demands of athletic facilities.  

The conversation started with Weston sharing his history in the sports surfaces market, saying, “I’ve been in the business for 16 years. At this point, our team is surfacing and resurfacing a little over 700 courts a year across the country — about 80% commercial, 20% residential.” Recently, he has noticed the market has grown more popular with new companies entering the scene. 

When we asked what has driven this growth, he pointed to the rise of popularity of padel (a racquet sport that combines elements of tennis and squash) and pickleball (a racket sport that resembles tennis played on a doubles badminton court). He elaborated:  

Every year there are trends and there are shifts. Right now, padel is up and coming and pickleball, as we all know, is super popular. We’re even seeing pickleball become an organized sport in colleges. In response, a lot of parks and recreation buildings are converting spaces into courts for these games, and some people are even building play areas in their backyards.  

Weston’s best advice for people coming into this market? Learn the proper ways to install sports surfaces. He explained, “It looks easy on paper and it's a very tough business. We have seen an uptick in maintenance work specifically related to correcting deficiencies in other people's installs.” 

Where can you learn about the best practices for sports surface installations? Industry associations, like the American Sports Builders Association (ASBA), and veterans like Weston. He shared, “Getting involved is so valuable. I love hanging out with the suppliers, getting to know the vendors and even working with friendly competitors. I would always find a way to work with a competitor versus against one.”  

Want to learn more? Listen to the whole conversation with Weston or Watch the recording of our live stream from the job site!