Sport Court of Austin

Sport Court of Austin

By Beth Wade Friday, 26 February 2010

NORTHWEST AUSTIN — Greg Dettman has spent the past 30 years installing athletic courts for clients, including some of Austin’s famous residents like tennis star Andy Roddick and former University of Texas women’s basketball coach Jody Conradt.

Dettman started Sport Court of Austin in 1978 after a friend introduced him to the Sport Court concept. He had thought about opening a sports and fitness club, but was sold on the concept after reading an article in Newsweek about the Sport Court brand.

“I had no clue that I was going to end up owning my own business,” he said. “I had always dreamed of having [an athletic] court in my backyard when I was a kid.”

The company installs family recreation courts that can be used for multiple sports. Sport Courts can fit in most backyards, depending on their size, Dettman said. Courts start at roughly 25 feet by 25 feet and can increase to full-size basketball and tennis courts.

“It’s like having a home recreation center instead of having to go to the gym,” he said. “Having one of these courts means people don’t have to go broke having fun.”

A court installation takes approximately two weeks for construction. Dettman’s crew clears, levels and compacts the dirt for the site, lays the concrete and installs the modular court, which can be made from several different materials depending on the job.

While the recent recession has had an effect on his business, Dettman said he is not worried.

“This couldn’t have been a better year for this to happen,” he said. “The summer was so hot. It would have been a killer. So we took a deep breath and slowed down, but there is still a lot of interest.”

Dettman said he balanced his schedule with indoor work. The company has completed some school projects for Austin Independent School District and other neighboring school districts, including replacing older carpeted gymnasium floors with the modular flooring and installing tennis courts.

“The commercial projects, those are work. It’s the projects in backyards that are the most fun,” Dettman said. “It’s all about sports and the kids.”

Dettman said it is important for customers to understand the impact having a court could have on their families.

“There are a variety of sports and games that can be played on the courts,” Dettman said. “With having the court at home, it gives busy parents a lot more opportunities to spend time with their kids. It gives them more of an opportunity to get the kids out from in front of the video games, too.”

Dettman’s love of sports began early in his life and is something he shares with the company’s president, Vic Sanchez. The pair met playing basketball together at the University of Texas in 1969.

“Sports has always been a passion, and I still love it. It’s exciting working with people. It’s gratifying to sell courts to the children of people we originally sold to,” Sanchez said.