How do we plan an HOA tennis court resurfacing and decide whether to add pickleball lines?

By OurHOA · General information · Revised September 24, 2026

How an HOA board plans a tennis or pickleball court resurfacing: crack repair vs resurface, adding pickleball lines, bid scope, approval rules and owner notice.

Part of the HOA board handbook: vendors, projects and upkeep.

The short answer

Get a court builder to tell you whether the court needs crack repair, a resurface or a rebuild, and settle the pickleball question with owners before you send anything out to bid. Then write one scope that every bidder prices, schedule the color coats for warm weather, and fund the job from the reserve line for the court surface. Most court projects go wrong in one of two places. The board pays for a new color coat over cracks that were always going to come back, or it paints pickleball lines on the tennis court without asking the tennis players, and spends the next year refereeing a fight between neighbors. Approval and bid rules depend on your state and your governing documents, so use this as a planning guide and not legal advice.

Crack repair, resurface or rebuild

Acrylic color coats on an asphalt or concrete court wear out and get resurfaced every several years. The reserve study gives the court a replacement year, but the condition of the base decides what you are actually buying. Walk the court with a builder after a rain and look for three things: cracks, standing water, and soft or heaving spots. The USTA's advice to court owners is blunt. Once cracks start forming they cannot be stopped, only slowed, and a standard crack repair system can help the court last longer. Filling cracks with patch material and painting over them usually buys a season. Low spots that hold water, which builders call birdbaths, speed up cracking and should be patched and leveled before any color goes on. The USTA also warns against paving a new layer of asphalt over an old court, because the old cracks come up through the new surface and the extra height changes the net and fence heights. If the builder finds wide, spreading cracks, heaving or a failed base, you are pricing a rebuild, and the reserve study needs an update before the budget does. Ask for a short written condition report with photos and a recommendation either way.

Settle the pickleball question first

Adding pickleball lines is the cheapest time to do it, because the crew is already there, and the riskiest time to decide it without asking. Send owners a short survey before you write the scope. A question that works: 'The tennis court will be resurfaced in [month]. Which do you prefer? (a) Tennis lines only. (b) Tennis lines plus two pickleball courts in lighter lines, with portable pickleball nets kept in the storage box. (c) Convert the court to pickleball only. The board will also consider playing hours for pickleball near homes. Comments:' The USTA's April 2023 statement of guidance describes the shared option. On a 78-foot tennis court, up to two pickleball courts can be added, one on either side of the net. The blended lines should be 1-1/2 inches wide, in textured paint a shade lighter than the court surface in the same color family, and should stop 3 inches short of the tennis lines. A pickleball court is 20 feet wide by 44 feet long with a non-volley zone 7 feet from the net on each side, per USA Pickleball, and the USTA notes the industry standard of at least 8 feet between a pickleball baseline and any permanent fixture. A full conversion adds dedicated net posts, possibly fence changes and more courts per slab. It is a larger decision, and in many communities it counts as changing an amenity rather than maintaining one. Pickleball is also louder than tennis. If homes sit close to the court, discuss hours with owners before you paint lines, and put the rule in writing when you adopt it. Our guide on whether an HOA can restrict pickleball or sport courts covers the noise side.

Write one scope that every bidder prices

Put these lines in the bid form so that each builder prices the same job. Crack repair: the named system, by linear foot, with the total footage measured at the site walk. Birdbaths: patch and level, with a flood test before color coating. Surface: pressure washing, the number of acrylic resurfacer coats and color coats, and the manufacturer's product line or an equal. Colors: in-bounds and out-of-bounds, chosen before bidding. Lines: tennis lines, plus pickleball lines only if the survey said so, drawn on a layout diagram attached to the bid. Posts and nets: reset or replace net posts, new tennis net and center strap, and portable pickleball nets if you are adding lines. Fence and windscreens: repair price per section, gate hardware, and whether windscreens come down and go back up. Cleanup and protection of the surrounding landscape. Warranty: the manufacturer's and the installer's, in writing, with a plain answer on whether new cracks are covered. Ask each bidder when they can schedule the color coats. The USTA's guidance calls for color coating at 50 degrees and above, so a Colorado court usually resurfaces between late spring and early fall, and a Texas or Florida court avoids the weeks with daily storms. Our guide on how to write an HOA request for proposal covers the bid form, the single site walk and the bid sheet.

Approval rules in Texas, Florida and Colorado

Resurfacing an existing court is maintenance. Converting it or building a new court may not be. In Texas, Property Code section 209.0051(h) keeps some decisions for an open board meeting, including the construction of capital improvements other than the repair, replacement or enhancement of existing capital improvements, so vote on a new court in an open meeting. A resurface is a repair and is not on that list, though most boards approve it at a meeting anyway. Section 209.0052(c) requires the association to solicit bids through its own bid process for services costing more than $50,000, and 209.0052(b) sets conditions before a director or a relative can win the contract. In Florida, section 720.3055 requires competitive bids when a contract costs more than 10 percent of the association's total annual budget including reserves. If the work will be paid from reserves but the court is not a component funded in them, section 720.303(6)(h) requires approval in advance by a majority vote at a meeting where a quorum is present before reserve money goes to another purpose. In Colorado, section 38-33.3-308 requires board meetings to be open to all members, so hold the vote in a noticed meeting. In every state, read the declaration for rules on changing or adding amenities before you convert a court, because some require a member vote above a dollar amount or for any material change.

A sample timeline for a summer project

October to December: condition report from a builder, compare the cost with the reserve line, and send the owner survey. January: board reviews survey results and decides tennis only, shared lines or conversion, then writes the scope and layout. February: request for proposal goes out with one site walk and 30 days to bid. March: bid sheet in the board packet, contract and funding approved. April: owner notice with the closure dates. May to September: the builder schedules the work for a dry stretch warm enough for coating. Plan on the court being closed for one to three weeks depending on crack work, weather and cure time, and get the builder's number of working days in the contract. Final walk, punch list and warranty documents come before the last payment. Send the date and cost to the reserve study provider so the component resets.

The motion and the owner notice

A motion you can adapt: 'Moved to approve the contract with [builder] to repair cracks, level low areas and resurface the community tennis court under the bid dated [date] for $[amount], with [tennis lines only / tennis lines plus two blended pickleball courts as shown on the attached layout], plus a contingency of up to $[amount] for crack repair beyond the measured footage at the bid's unit price, paid from the court surface reserve, with [director] authorized to approve change orders within the contingency and required to report each one at the next board meeting.' Then send owners a notice about four weeks before closing and post it on the court gate: 'The tennis court will close from [date] to about [date] for crack repair and resurfacing. The new surface will include [describe lines], as most owners preferred in the [month] survey. The cost of $[amount] comes from the reserve fund set aside for this work. Please stay off the court while coatings cure, even if it looks dry. Pickleball nets will be kept in [location], and play on the pickleball lines is limited to [hours].'

Mistakes that shorten the new surface

Paying for color over cracks that nobody repaired. Skipping the flood test and finding the birdbath in the first rain. Letting each builder price a different number of coats. Painting pickleball lines in bright white on a court the tennis players use every morning, when the USTA's blended-line approach was available. Adding pickleball with no hours rule next to a bedroom window. Scheduling coats in October in Colorado. Assuming the warranty covers cracks that come back without reading it. Leaving the court out of the reserve study update. When the new surface is done, a leaf blower and a hose once a month will do more for it than any product the builder sells you. For the same planning steps on the pool, see our guide on how to plan an HOA pool resurfacing project.

Sources

These guides are general education for HOA boards and residents, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Rules vary by state and by your community's governing documents - check with a professional for your situation.

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