Furnishing sports facilities has given us a wealth of experience, but in recent years we have been moving more and more towards complete exercise concepts. On the one hand because the market demands it, on the other because we are growing and developing continuously.
Developments in racquet sports are not standing still at the moment. Whereas until a few years ago we still talked about traditional tennis clubs, in recent years you can see that there is a need for more ‘adventure’ at the tennis club. Tennis players or followers of racket sports have been introduced to beachtennis. Many have now embraced the immensely popular padel. A number of clubs now have one or more courts. Some tennis halls have been completely converted for padel.
In recent years, pickleball has also conquered Europe and the Netherlands. Pickleball is not only easy to join, but also more attractive than padel in terms of investment. Pickleball makes it easier to offer a wider range of sports to a broader target group.
Why respond to this as a tennis club?
You see the need for an innovative challenging sports offer in all sports. Think of basketball, where 3×3 basketball recently took off. Volleyball was previously successful with the integration of beach volleyball, but football and hockey are not standing still either, by offering other forms of play. Tennis players and their supporters also crave a broader sports experience. By responding to this, you immediately increase your club’s appeal. It gives members the opportunity to try out different sports, which can lead to greater involvement and a broader sporting experience.
Future-proofing your association:
By introducing other racquet sports, you can attract new members and increase diversity within an association. There is a large group of people, who choose to play multiple sports. A key sport and as a low-threshold (recreational) addition. The social aspect plays an important role in this, as does the ‘fear of missing out’ (FOMO) effect; driven by social media. If initiated properly, it will contribute to the financial stability and long-term viability of a club.
How do you approach this as a tennis club?
First, do an inventory of your facilities: Investigate what modifications to the current facilities are possible to introduce new racquet sports. Take stock of the space available or see which courts can be converted to accommodate a new racquet sport. Are there opportunities to turn fields into one ‘omni-field’? Then you can situationally convert your pitch, for example if tournaments are played.
If you see possibilities, do research among members and in your working area what needs exist in terms of racquet sports. The more you meet their needs, the more likely your project will succeed.
Make a budget for the revenues you can generate with this new branch of racquet sports, what revenues might remain and how these will be balanced. Take into account the impact on equipment rental, membership fees, bar turnover, sponsor income, etc.
As an example, we give the conversion of one tennis court into four pickleball courts. This allows you to have as many as 16 players playing simultaneously instead of four! What does this mean for your club’s revenue?
What do you need for this?
A low-threshold comprehensive sports offer will be the future: an association where you can recreate at a different level in addition to practising top and intermediate sports. Besides tennis, the association offers other racket sports; such as padel, beachtennis or pickleball. This makes the club a versatile sports venue for anyone who loves racket sports.
Attractive, maintenance-free and drained multi-sport courts invite you to play. By using different colours and lines, you can easily combine several sports on the same surface.
You can already easily facilitate supplies for these sports by means of a SportBox. With padel, you can often reserve rackets and balls on location. This reservation and payment is easily done via a corresponding app. For Pickleball, this possibility also exists, of course.
Events and competitions are essential to generate extra income: The association organises regular events, tournaments and competitions for various racquet sports. It simulates involvement in the sport and interaction between members.
And more is possible in the field of sports and exercise
Would you like to know more about designing future sports facilities? We like to think and talk with you. Together with our partners, we have already developed and realised concepts to meet these changing needs. Whether it is to turn declining membership numbers into more members, to promote exercise in all age groups or to contribute to circular objectives. We are at home in many (sports) markets.
