Luxury houses with private sports grounds
Sam Oh, landlord (Greenwich, Connecticut) with his own squash home. He recently completed the construction of the court and invited professional squash players - Gillie Lane and Julian Ellingworth to play an exhibition match. The home court allows Sam, a passionate player, to return home from work and play squash with one of his 3 daughters, without having to get in the car and go to the club.
Jilli Lane (left) and Julian Ealingworth (right)
"I have a lot of business trips. I wanted to create an easy way for the kids to socialize, ”says Sam, adding that the new court is also a way to bring local players into squash.
Court cost: about $ 50,000.
Article and images taken from Wall Street magazine.
In luxury homes, you can often find real sports complexes - from full-sized gyms, baseball, badminton and volleyball courts, private squash and racquetball courts to lacrosse fields, wrestling rings and hockey rinks.
In Palm Beach, Florida, builder Terry Cadmore has just finished building a replica of the home courts of a sports complex at the Miami American Airlines Arena. Although it has a smaller area than the original, the project is also decorated with the logo and sign of the Miami Heat team. It includes a professional arena, scoreboard and sound system. The owners' son uses the sports complex for basketball.
Court cost: about $ 100,000
In Telluride, Colorado, the estate of Timothy Bobberg and Roxana Pulitzer includes, among other sports grounds, its own shooting range over 30 meters long, which is controlled by a computer.
It costs the following pleasure: 18.5 million dollars.
"It happened at the same time," said Dave Vander He of WeBuildSports.com, which is building home gymnasiums and sports fields in the Chicago area. Dave says that he used to build 2 or 3 sports grounds a year with an area of 300 to 900 square meters and they cost from 10,000 to 70,000 dollars. Last year, it received 25 budget requests and about 11 projects were built.
Gordon Anderson (Buffalo, NY), of Anderson Courts & Sports Surfaces, a company that specializes in the construction of squash, basketball and racquetball courts, last year placed squash courts in 12 private homes. Doubling your business in four years from a budget of $ 35,000 to $ 70,000.
Connor Sport Court (Salt Lake City, Utah), a company that sets gyms for professional teams and private residences, held a focus group a few years ago to find out why people are building more courts at home.
The answer was twofold: "The need for a safe place where children and parents can play sports and help the child develop existing skills, and parents - to notice talents or just a penchant for a particular sport," - says CEO Ron Cherney.
Larry Bettino spent about $ 250,000 turning the barn into a two-level sports facility. Built in 2010, the playground includes a full-size basketball court and a squash court on the 2nd floor, which was previously a haystack; on the ground floor there is a swimming pool, a room with exercise machines and fitness equipment.
Alicia Jeppesen, a housewife, from Bennington, Nebraska. Her husband and 3 children will soon move into a new 1,500-square-meter house with its own 240-square-meter basketball court. The house cost $ 750,000; court - about $ 50,000. Ms. Jeppesen says her goal is to use the court for rollerblading, climbing, tennis, and basketball, and turn it into a party ground. The plan was to "make our house so fun that my children's friends would like to be here and I would know where they are and that they are safe," she says.
Houses with covered areas are usually very large, from 1,500 square meters and more. "Everyone loves home sports fields, but not everyone can afford it," said Mike Zavislak, an agent at Baird & Warner in Chicago. The owners are asking for $ 2.4 million for such estates, and the house could be sold for years.
Construction of the site is just the beginning. Installing heating and ventilation systems over large areas is expensive - up to $ 100,000 can only be paid for a squash court. In addition, parking can be a problem when school teams and other athletes begin to use the court for training.
The construction of home complexes leads to community demand for its use.
John Nugent, CEO of the software company, owns a 6,000-square-foot home in Andover, Massachusetts, with a full-size basketball court, a batting cage with a sweater, a bowling alley, and an indoor and outdoor pool. Mr Nugent says the home sports complex has helped his son stay competitive in higher sports schools. Now that his son is in law school, many high schools in basketball and football use their gym. Mr Nugent says he has no problem with that, although "there may be traffic jams during the day". The house is currently selling for $ 5.5 million.
"The gym is the most popular room in the house," said Tony Graceley, a car dealer in Houston. Austin: Gracie uses the gym for her own Sunday basketball games and charities, and every week when it's cold, a group of kids next door use the gym to play Wiffle ball.
The happiest owners of estates with home courts are those who built playgrounds for their own use. Helge Frank, a retired neurologist, set up a racquet court while building his home in Oak Brook, Illinois. Although he decided to sell the house for $ 2.4 million. Frank says the $ 60,000 court cost it, as he played with his friends twice a week on his own court for more than 30 years.
Projects of houses with squash courts
Modern home design idea in Cleveland
Private residence of classic house design in Miami
Squash court on a private estate in Bedford, New York
Holiday house, author's studio Nigro
According to the owners of squash courts, the demand for sports grounds exceeds the supply, which means that the construction of your own sports ground is also a great business opportunity.
©Анна Теслева
