Court Facility Break-Even Calculator
Put in your own court rates, bookings, memberships and costs to see monthly profit or loss, how long payback would take, and the share of court-hours you'd need to book to break even.
Your facility, per month
Example inputs — replace with quotes from your area. The numbers filled in below only show how the calculator works; they aren't market data. This is a planning illustration, not financial advice.
Any currency works: the maths is the same, only the $ sign is fixed.
How to work out break-even for a court facility
A court facility sells court-hours. How many it can sell is fixed by the number of courts and the hours you're open; how many it does sell, and at what price, decides whether the rent gets paid. This calculator puts those numbers side by side so you can see what has to be true for the business to cover its costs.
The formula
- Court-hours available = courts × open hours per week × 4.33 weeks per month.
- Booking revenue = court-hours available × share booked × rate per court-hour (peak and off-peak worked out separately if you split them).
- Revenue = booking revenue + members × monthly fee + leagues, coaching and pro shop.
- Costs = rent + staff + utilities + insurance + other fixed costs + the loan payment.
- Profit or loss = revenue − costs.
- Break-even booking rate = (costs − membership and other income) ÷ (court-hours available × average rate per booked hour).
- Payback = upfront investment not covered by the loan ÷ monthly profit. If there's no profit, there's no payback.
Example: 8 courts open 98 hours a week give about 3,397 court-hours a month. At $34 an hour, every 10% of those hours booked brings in about $11,550. Those are the example inputs above, not a forecast; use quotes and rates from your own area.
Where the example inputs come from
Every pre-filled number is an example. Where a published figure exists, the example sits inside its range; where none does, it's a placeholder. Replace all of them with your own quotes.
- Rent, $10.32 per sq ft per year: the US industrial average asking rent in Q2 2026, triple net (Cushman & Wakefield, U.S. Industrial MarketBeat Q2 2026). Local markets in the same report ran from about $4.30 to $27.50. Triple net means property taxes, insurance and common-area charges come on top; the example puts them under other fixed costs. Flex and former retail buildings price differently.
- Floor area, 24,000 sq ft for 8 courts: about 3,000 sq ft per court including lobby, restrooms and lounge, in line with operators who take 18,000 to 30,000 sq ft for 6 to 10 courts. The courts alone use 1,800 to 2,176 sq ft each.
- Court rate, $34 an hour ($24 off-peak, $44 peak in the split): published pickleball court rental at a handful of US venues in 2026 ran from about $24 off-peak to $44 peak. That's a few price pages, not a national survey.
- Membership, $109 a month: unlimited-play memberships at the same venues ran about $95 to $129 a month. The member count is a placeholder.
- Bookings, 40%: there is no published, audited data on how full court facilities are. Software vendors publish benchmarks without saying where they come from, so treat any figure, including this one, as a guess to test.
- Fit-out, $600,000: published figures for converting a building into about 8 courts range from roughly $200,000 to $3 million, depending on the building's condition and what's included (HVAC, restrooms, lighting, surfaces, lobby).
- Staff, utilities, insurance, other income and the loan: placeholders. We found no reliable published range for these.
Small misses compound. Court revenue is how often courts are booked × how many players use them × what each pays; if all three come in 15% under plan, revenue is about 39% under (0.85 × 0.85 × 0.85 = 0.61). Try the inputs a little lower than you hope and see what happens.
Get real numbers before you trust the answer
- Rent: ask landlords for quotes on buildings with the clear height your sport needs, and whether column positions can be changed.
- Court-hour rates and bookings: look at what nearby facilities charge and when their courts are full; peak evenings and weekends usually fill first.
- Fit-out: get quotes for flooring or court surface, nets, lighting, HVAC, restrooms and the front desk.
- Insurance and staff: ask a local broker, and price every hour the doors are open.
What it leaves out
Taxes, depreciation, seasonality, equipment replacement, price changes and the ramp-up months while members join. If you'll draw a salary, add it to staff. Use the result to compare scenarios and to see which numbers matter most, then take it to an accountant. Nothing here promises a profit.
First: how many courts fit?
Revenue starts with the court count, and the building decides it. The court layout calculator counts pickleball or badminton courts in your building around its columns, with the run-off USA Pickleball and BWF ask for, and checks the clear height.
Related guides
Frequently Asked Questions
How is break-even worked out?
Court-hours available = courts × open hours per week × 52 ÷ 12. Booking revenue = court-hours × the share booked × the hourly rate (or separate peak and off-peak figures). Add memberships and other income, subtract rent, staff, utilities, insurance, other fixed costs and the loan payment, and you have monthly profit or loss. The break-even booking rate is the share of court-hours that would cover what memberships and other income don't.
Where do the example numbers come from?
They're examples, not a forecast. Where a published figure exists the example sits inside its range: rent at $10.32 per sq ft per year is the US industrial average asking rent (triple net) in Q2 2026 from Cushman & Wakefield; the court rate sits in the roughly $24 off-peak to $44 peak per hour published by a handful of US venues in 2026; the $109 membership sits in their $95 to $129 a month for unlimited play. Bookings, staff, utilities, insurance and fit-out are placeholders. Replace every one with quotes from landlords, contractors, insurers and local operators.
How is the payback period calculated?
Payback months = the upfront investment you pay yourself (fit-out minus any loan) ÷ monthly profit after the loan payment. If monthly profit is zero or negative, the investment isn't recovered at those inputs and the calculator says so instead of showing a number.
What does it leave out?
Taxes, depreciation, seasonality, the months it takes to build up members, price changes, an owner's salary (add it as staff cost), equipment replacement and one-off costs after opening. It's a planning illustration to compare scenarios, not financial advice and not a promise of profit. Talk to an accountant before committing money.
How many courts fit in my building?
Use the Court Layout Calculator first: it counts pickleball or badminton courts in your building's dimensions around its columns, with the run-off USA Pickleball and BWF ask for, then bring that court count here.