How much does a tennis court cost to build in the Hamptons?

The national numbers (2026)

Line	Range	Note
Full court, average	$65,000; most $45,000–80,000; $25,000–150,000 full range	one national guide (2025)
Blended, all court projects	$14,889; $5,776–24,002	the other guide; includes small jobs and resurfacing
Grass	$20,000–75,000
Artificial turf	$25,000–80,000
Asphalt	$40,000–80,000	15–20 year life
Post-tensioned concrete	$45,000–80,000
Har-Tru clay	$60,000–90,000	+ about $2,000 a year
Cushioned acrylic	$65,000–100,000
Labor / materials	$30,000–35,000 / $10,000–50,000
Indoor court or bubble	$70,000–150,000
Fencing	$5,000–12,000 or $5,000–15,000	8 ft recommended
Lighting	$2,000–5,000 or $2,000–6,000	banned for courts in Southampton Village
Backboard / net / lines	$5,000–10,000 / $200–300 / $300–600

Two cautions travel with that table. The two national cost guides publish the same by-surface figures to the dollar, so they are one dataset cited twice, not two confirmations; and their blended averages disagree by a factor of four because one counts every backyard job. Neither is a Long Island figure: Hamptons Tennis Company, building here since 1985, quotes by the site, and Har-Tru sells its budget planning as a consulting service.

What the Hamptons adds

Depth. Sagaponack’s 2012 compromise lets a court sunk at least four feet below grade keep the ordinary setback while a court at grade meets 150% of it, and the cost of sinking was put at about $100,000 then; Southampton Village’s guidelines of August 17, 2026 make four feet below grade the presumption for any new or converted court where the site allows. A sunken court is an excavation, a retaining structure, drainage and a wall of spoil to remove, on top of the court.

Water. The outwash ground south of the highway saturates in winter and the water table near the bays and ponds sits 2–8 feet down; Southampton Village asks a court to retain a two-inch storm on site. The base that handles that is the difference between the $45,000 court and the $80,000 one, and between a court that drains in year ten and one that cracks in year three.

Room and review. Doubled setbacks for playing courts in the Village of East Hampton (as its code is summarised) and, by counsel’s reading, across the East End; courts named in the Town of Southampton’s coverage and side-yard rules; fence caps of 4 and 6 feet that an 8-foot enclosure exceeds; a clearing limit in the Town of East Hampton that a 7,200-square-foot court eats a third of. Each is a variance, a site plan or a board, and each costs a survey, drawings and time.

Time. A building permit and a certificate of occupancy are required for a playing court everywhere here; the Town of East Hampton’s desk ran 16–20 weeks behind its 15-day clock in 2026, the Village of East Hampton two to four weeks. Builders price the season they lose.

What a fair quote contains

The base and its drainage, by name; the surface and its warranty; the fence, screens and gates; the sunken-court excavation and retaining work if the rules or the neighbours require it; the survey, permits and board appearances, and who attends them; the schedule against the village construction hours; and what the court will need every April. A quote that is only a surface and a price is quoting the wrong court.