Please note that the price information in this article was based on data from 2019 and may now be outdated.
Depending on the space you have for your concrete basketball court, you will pay a different price. The prices for the finished court can range anywhere from $4,000 to $25,000. It all depends on the size, the surfacing, the type of equipment and similar factors.
Usually, people opt for the half-courts that come in one of these two sizes:
| Type of court | Dimensions | Surface area |
|---|---|---|
| Free throw area | 7 m x 10 m | 70m2 |
| 3-on-3 area | 10 m x 15 m | 150 m2 |
Now that you know the surfaces, you need to understand the labour costs and the material costs that you can expect to pay. The base of these courts is concrete and that is why you need an amazing concreter to do your work. If your concrete slab is not 100% flat and perfect, your court will not be usable.
On average, pouring a concrete slab costs around $60 per square metre. If you look at the table above, that means you need to think about $4,200 for the smaller option or the $9,000 for the bigger court. Before you start pouring the concrete, you need to make sure that the base for your court has been well made.
It means digging a hole that is at least 10 cm deep and pouring gravel into it. The next phase is leveling that gravel so it settles well, ensuring a flat surface for the court. Once you have a solid base, it is time to pour the concrete.
Image from thundercrete.com.au
Make sure that your concrete slab is around 10 cm thick. That is the average thickness for a concrete slab that doesn’t have to sustain heavy objects. You can go on and use your concrete as a base for other coatings, finishes and line drawing.
The price you should expect is somewhere between $2000 and $12,000. When your court is nice and cured it is time to do some surfacing. Your first and the cheapest options is to apply a concrete sealer and be done with it. If this is a court that you will use occasionally for a short throwing of hoops, this is the best option for you.
The next option is to do the complete surfacing of your basketball court. This is usually done with acrylic coatings and paints. Other options include polyurethane or other synthetic coatings. This is for those that really love playing and plan on doing it often. Usually, there is more than one person in such household who plays basketball.
Image from kangaroocourts.com.au
The next level of prices is the special padding for the court that is applied before the paint. This is the near professional level of the court surface. This is best for those that enjoy playing basketball with their friends and family daily. The padding of the court protect your joints because concrete is way to hard on your knees and ankles.
Resurfacing is done when you already have an old concrete slab that is damaged and which has suffered a significant wear and tear. If you are using the spray on concrete, you can expect to pay around $60 – $85 per m2.
You will probably pay around $10 less than that for a basic, poured concrete. Resurfacing is more than just putting another layer of concrete over your old one.
There will be some sanding involved for sure. Your concreter will have to remove the upper layer of the court. If there are different paddings, paints and coatings, they will most probably have to go. Once that layer is removed, everything needs to be ground well. All the cracks and air pockets need to be fixed.
When the surface is ready, it is time for washing. This should not take long, as the point of washing is to remove all the dirt and debris, so that the material used to seal the cracks and holes is attached to the concrete itself and not the dust and dirt.
This depends on the court size that you have. It is not very likely that you have an entire court in your backyard, but in case you do, here are the dimensions and the diagram of the lines.
Image from dsr.wa.gov.au
Of course, these are the dimensions of a real basketball court. You can opt for half a court, a 3 m line diameter or even just the free-throw area. It is all up to you.
Now that you know which lines you need and what are the dimensions of those lines, you need to make sure you know how to paint them. The best and the most permanent way to do this is to use stenciled concrete.
In that way, your concreter will use concrete of different colours to mark the lines. These lines won’t wash away or fade. They will already be incorporated into the concrete itself, so there is no way for them to fade or chip.
You can also paint over the poured concrete slab. There are many paints that can be used on concrete. It is advisable to put some sort of a sealer over the paint, otherwise it will chip, fade and disappear.
Once you have the concrete slab poured, treated, sealed and padded and your lines all drawn, it is time to buy the hoops! With that, you have your new basketball court. Now, it is only a matter of benches or maybe even an outdoor drinking water fountain.
But let’s take a step back and go to the beginning. The first thing that needs to happen is a perfectly flat concrete slab. For this to happen you need a professional concreter who will do it right. Ask for quotes from concreting pros all over Australia and plan your budget.