Want a professional grade putting green in your back yard? Or a half-sized basketball court? Of maybe you prefer a tennis court fit for the pros?
Jamie Sartin, president of Atlanta-based CBA Sport, says he can satisfy your needs. His company installs basketball courts for the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech and put down the floor for the recent Final Four.
The company employs 18 people and had revenues in 2012 of $4.2 million, but he says that’ll increase this year as more financially-recovered homeowners want to play sports on non-homemade courts.
It’s already happening, he says, a sign the economic upswing has some power behind it.
Q. How much did it cost to put down the floor for the Final Four?
A. That is one of our portable floor systems and they would generally cost about $120k to purchase.
Q. I’d guess more homeowners are putting in these courts now that the worst of the recession seems over?
A. Yes. Seeing people investing in their own property again is definitely an optimistic sign.
Q. How many basketball courts and other types of sports stuff did you install in 2012 for residential customers?
A. 65
Q. How much does a home basketball court cost? Half-sized basketball courts start at about $10,000 and can go up depending on size, options and site preparation. Typical basketball and multi-sport courts generally range from $10,000 to $30,000, again depending on size, options, lights, components and site preparation. We build a lot of half court basketball, racquet sports and volleyball. People like their sports and it’s a good way to spend time with the kids.
Q. Do you just do these sports areas for individuals, or commercial, too?
A. The residential part of the business is comprised of backyard game courts, tennis, golf greens, batting cages. We actually come in, do the grading, pour the concrete, put in lights, and walls for the tennis courts. Yes, we also do a lot of commercial work.
Q. What is your target demographic?
A. Probably a household income of at least $150,000 and home values of $400,000 to $500,000. We’ll come in and meet and determine the best place. We will also build scaled down models. We build a lot in Buckhead, Sandy Springs, North Fulton, east Cobb, and we do a lot in Stone Mountain. It’s family entertainment.
Q. What kind of commercial work do you do?
A. Our main business is gymnasium floors. We do everything from hardwood to poured rubber floors. These are all indoors. From that customer base we are big in the public school sector, parks and recreation and the collegiate level. We do a lot of stuff for the University of Georgia, the Ramsey Center, which is the student recreation center. We did the floors, the weight room, the gymnastics floor, the basketball courts, the new practice facility for the men’s and women’s basketball teams. Our business used to be 80 percent residential and now we are 75 percent commercial, because the dollar volume is much higher on these projects. We also do the maintenance work. We’ve done well over a million dollars work there over the years. Closer to $1.5 million.
Q. Is it that hard to put down a basketball floor?
A. It can be very difficult and is very precise work. The subfloor systems can be fairly complicated and have to hold up to weight loads from bleachers and equipment while still providing shock absorption. You have millions of dollars worth of feet running up and down those floors. We also do FSU (Florida State University), Clemson, a few others. There’s still a lot of funding in college athletics.
Q. How long does it take to put in a backyard basketball arena or a tennis court?
A. I would say a quick turnaround would be a two to three week process, depending on the weather.
Q. The big money is in commercial, so is that what you like best?
A. The fun part is residential. You get to interact with the family.
Q. Do you have much competition?
A. There are no companies we compete with that do all of what we do. Usually it’s either one or the other.
Q. Volleyball has gotten big in schools and colleges. What would a volleyball court cost me?
A. It would be in the $22,000 range. A half basketball court would start at $10,000 and the average is closer to $18,000 to $20,000. Basketball is most popular because people think their children will get scholarships. But most people we build for build them just for recreation.
Q. Do you do work for celebrities?
A. Yes, sometimes. Hines Ward lives in east Cobb. And we built some things for Ludacris, a full court basketball court, a full tennis court. We do a lot for athletes, musicians, entertainers. We did Tom Glavine, a multi-purpose court he also could play roller hockey on. You know he was a hockey player, too. Also a smaller baseball area. Athletes are an important part of our business but the bulk is more the family.
Q. So do you advertise?
A We do, on the Internet and in print for the residential side. There are a lot of ways to get business on the commercial side. We don’t do any cold calling unless it is to an architect or a general contractor. We do a lot on Facebook and Twitter.
Q. Can people see what they’re getting in your showroom?
A. Yes. We have a pretty large building, 5,000 square feet of showroom space for indoor and outdoor projects. We can actually pull up someone’s yard on the computer screen and draw out what they want right there. It’s pictometry. Google Earth on steroids. It’s a really neat program.
Q. Do you do courts, tennis and basketball, for schools?
A. Yes. We do indoor gymnasium floors, tennis courts, outdoor turf fields, and now we are concentrating on smaller play areas for turf, like 3000 to 5,000 square foot areas for elementary schools. Those are generally funded through the PTA. We do a lot of presentations.
Q. Can you give me a bit more on the demographics of families that want their own courts and areas?
A. Yes. Generally, families have kids between five and 15 years of age. Then once they get past 15, grandparents build things. We have built a few projects for children of parents we built for. That lets us know how old we’re getting.
Q. Where do you do most of your work?
A. Residential, mostly Georgia. Commercial we do north and south Carolina. Basketball flooring is a big part of this business and maintenance of the courts is a side business. Basketball courts get a lot of abuse.
Q. Did you do the court for the recent Final Four basketball tournament?
A. Yes. Our manufacturing team put in those floors, and they were brand new. They are all portable floors. This was at the Georgia Dome. The Hawks at Phillips Arena get one of our new floors about every five years. Getting back to the Final Four, the winning team has the option to buy the floor. Louisville bought the floor this year.
Q. How has this kind of business changed over the years?
A. Residential courts have grown from being a single-use space used for only basketball or tennis to one that services multiple purposes. Now they’re used for tennis, basketball, volleyball, badminton, hopscotch, roller hockey and tetherball.
Q. If I want to install a first rate putting green, how much would it cost, how long would it take and how much space would I need?
A. Putting greens average $15 to $18 per square foot depending on how the sub-based is constructed — crushed aggregate vs. concrete. The smallest size recommended is 15 feet by 20 feet. Anything smaller is not very functional or of great value.
Q. What’s the difference between CBA Sports and Sport Court?
A. CBA Sports is our company and Sport Court is the brand of one of our products, outdoor courts.
Q. Based on what you see, with all the houses going up seemingly all over now, what’s your view of the economy?
A. It’s obviously better. For a long time we didn’t see any building gong on. People really pulled back. That has an effect on your psyche. You are always waiting for the other shoe to drop. But I think people are feeling more optimistic for good reason now.
About the Author
