Squash is about to have its biggest moment in the sport's history. The LA28 Olympics will put the game in front of billions, and in the US squash already generates annual revenues of USD 100,000 to 500,000 per court in top-tier operations. That is the opportunity. The risk is that opening a squash club is not a gym with small rooms bolted on. It is a specialist construction project with 5.64 m ceiling heights, WSF-accredited wall systems, and a booking model that rewards patient community building over aggressive marketing.

This guide walks through every decision an investor needs to make before breaking ground, in the order it needs to be made. No fluff, no "success depends on passion" platitudes. Just the checklist and the numbers.

Is now a good time to open a squash club?

Yes, if you build for 2028 and beyond. Three trends converge in 2026 and make the timing favourable for investors with a five-year horizon.

• Olympic inclusion. Squash makes its Olympic debut at LA28, staged at Universal Studios. China reported over 30% growth in clubs and participation after the IOC decision. The US Squash Foundation's Drive to LA28 Campaign is channelling investment into court construction, school programmes and talent pathways.
• US market leadership. According to the Squash Facilities Network, the United States has roughly 1,000 known squash facilities hosting over 3,000 courts, with 73 facilities featuring eight or more courts. The Arlen Specter US Squash Center in Philadelphia alone houses 20 courts. The US is now the world's leading investor in squash.
• Racquet sport tailwinds. Padel participation in the UK grew 128% between June 2023 and Q2 2025 according to Sport England data. Multi-sport racquet facilities combining squash, padel and pickleball are becoming the dominant new-build model.

The counter-signal: traditional UK squash participation fell from 425,600 adults in 2016 to around 250,000 in 2023. The decline is real, but it happened mainly in old-format single-purpose clubs without programming. New operators who build around events, coaching and community are the ones filling courts.

Step 1: Market analysis and site selection

Before any architect quote, two questions decide whether the project is viable: how many paying players live within a 20-minute drive, and what do they currently pay for court time elsewhere?

Core inputs for a realistic market study:

• Population within a 20-minute catchment, broken down by age bracket (25 to 55 is the squash core)
• Existing squash courts in that catchment, their occupancy and pricing
• Competing racquet sports facilities (tennis, padel, pickleball)
• Proximity to schools, universities, corporate offices
• Income levels and disposable spend on sport and leisure
• Local squash league activity (England Squash venue map is the simplest UK starting point)

For the UK, England Squash reports more than 200,000 people playing weekly at over 1,500 venues. That gives you the rough density. A city of 250,000 with no serious squash facility is almost certainly underserved; a city of 250,000 with three existing clubs probably is not.

Site selection itself has three hard constraints that eliminate 80% of available properties:

• Ceiling height. A WSF singles court is 9.75 m long, 6.4 m wide, and 5.64 m high on the front wall with clear space above. Most warehouse conversions pass; most retail conversions do not.
• Floor loading. Courts need either a solid ground-floor slab or engineered upper-floor construction. Light commercial floors fail.
• Footprint. Each singles court needs roughly 70 square metres plus circulation. A viable club with changing rooms, reception and bar needs at least 600 to 800 square metres for four courts.

Step 2: How many courts should you build?

Start with four. Scale to six if the site and budget allow it. Below four, the unit economics rarely work.

The logic behind the number is simple: fixed costs (reception staff, cleaning, management software, insurance, utilities baseload) barely change whether you have two courts or five. A two-court club is essentially a hobby facility. A four-court club becomes a business. Six courts allow simultaneous league nights, coaching and casual play without conflicts, which is when member retention improves.

The Ukrainian squash industry source cited in our research puts it plainly: four courts is the minimum for real business, six or more is optimal. Space requirement for a six-court facility sits around 1,000 to 1,300 m² including parking for 20 cars. These numbers hold roughly across most European markets.

Step 3: Capital expenditure budget

The honest answer to "how to open a squash club and how much does it cost" is "it depends on five factors" — building type, location, number of courts, wall system quality and service package. ASB Squash, the market leader, acknowledges there is no single number. But investors need planning ranges, so here they are.

Capital cost categories for a four-court city club (new or converted existing space):

• Building shell and groundworks. Highly variable. Warehouse conversion in a secondary city: lower cost. Ground-up construction in central London: dominant cost line.
• Court systems (walls, tin, doors). ASB System100 or equivalent prefabricated panel systems. Glass back walls are now on 90% of new-build UK squash courts according to Courtcraft.
• Floors. WSF-accredited sprung timber. This is not the line to cut costs on, bad floors cause injuries and kill retention.
• Lighting. WSF requires minimum 300 lux at 1 m above floor level, but credible operators specify 500+ lux for league play.
• HVAC and ventilation. Squash courts need humidity and temperature control. Players generate significant heat, poorly ventilated courts lose bookings fast.
• Changing rooms, reception, bar or café. The revenue multiplier. A cold concrete shell with four courts does not retain members.
• Booking software and POS. Cloud-based systems are now standard.
• Furniture, fit-out, branding.
• Professional fees. Architect, structural engineer, planning consultant, project manager.
• Contingency. Budget 10-15% minimum. Court construction uncovers surprises, especially in conversions.

For Poland as a reference point, SQUASHTECH indicated in 2025 that an investor building a single club-grade court should assume a budget from PLN 150,000 net, rising significantly for glass, interactive features and full facility fit-out. That is the court itself, not the full club. For a four-court facility including building work, planning and fit-out, the total investment in Central Europe typically runs into seven figures in euro terms. UK and US budgets run higher still, driven by property costs and labour.

Ask every supplier for a fully itemised quote covering:

• WSF accreditation status of walls and floors
• Delivery and installation included
• Warranty terms (5 years minimum on walls, 10+ on structural elements)
• First-year maintenance included or costed separately
• Commissioning and handover process

Step 4: Legal structure, permits and WSF compliance

Club operators face three parallel regulatory workstreams: business, building and sport-specific.

Business side:

• Choose a legal structure (LLC/limited company in most jurisdictions)
• VAT registration thresholds apply in EU and UK
• Public liability insurance, £5-10 million minimum for UK sports venues
• Employer's liability insurance if you hire staff
• Premises licence if selling alcohol (common for clubhouse bars)
• Music licence (PPL/PRS in UK, equivalent elsewhere)

Building side:

• Planning permission, which for new-build sports facilities in the UK typically falls under Class F2(c) and takes 8-16 weeks when uncontested
• Building regulations approval (structural, fire, accessibility)
• Energy performance certification
• Change of use application if converting retail or industrial space

Sport side:

• WSF court specifications compliance (dimensions, materials, lighting)
• National federation affiliation (England Squash, Scottish Squash, Squash Wales, DSQV in Germany, etc.)
• League registration if hosting competitive play
• Coach qualifications (Level 2 minimum for paid coaching in the UK)
• Child safeguarding policies if running junior sessions

The single biggest legal trap in new-build squash clubs is noise. Residential neighbours object to evening court use, and councils can impose restrictive operating hours that destroy the business case. Commission an acoustic survey before buying the site.

Step 5: Revenue model and pricing

A squash club has four revenue streams. Getting the mix right matters more than pushing any single one.

Court bookings. The baseline. UK pay-and-play rates typically sit around £10-20 per 45-minute slot depending on location and peak hours. The US Squash Facilities Network reports university-based facilities open to the public averaging around USD 84 per month in membership fees, with private club fees running considerably higher.

Membership fees. The retention engine. Monthly or annual memberships convert casual players into regulars, smooth cash flow, and fill off-peak slots through unlimited booking incentives.

Coaching and programmes. The margin multiplier. Youth clinics, school partnerships, and after-school programmes fill daytime court slots that would otherwise remain empty. The Squash Facilities Network identifies programming as the number one revenue driver in US facilities generating USD 400,000 to 500,000 per court annually.

Ancillary revenue. Bar, café, pro shop, event hire, racket stringing, personal training. Typically 15-30% of total revenue in well-run clubs, and highest-margin of all.

Annual revenue per court benchmarks from the Squash Facilities Network (US data):

• Entry-level community clubs: USD 100,000
• Well-run urban clubs with programming: USD 200,000 to 300,000
• Top-tier operations with premium coaching and events: USD 400,000 to 500,000

UK and European numbers scale down proportionally with membership pricing, but the structure of revenue (court + membership + coaching + ancillary) is identical.

What is the payback period on a squash club?

Realistic range is 7 to 12 years for standalone squash facilities in mature European markets, faster in emerging markets or hybrid facilities. Key variables: property cost (buy vs lease), number of courts, programming maturity, and whether the facility incorporates padel or fitness revenue. Clubs relying solely on casual court bookings without programming rarely pay back in under a decade.

Step 6: Operations and staffing

A four-court club needs the following team structure at opening:

• General manager or club manager. Full-time. Handles operations, member relations, league coordination.
• Head coach. Full-time or committed part-time. Runs the coaching programme, junior sessions, and the one thing that actually retains members.
• Reception and front-of-house. Covers opening hours on rota, 2-3 part-time staff minimum.
• Cleaning. Outsourced or 1 FTE, courts need daily cleaning to maintain floor grip.
• Maintenance. Contract with a WSF-certified specialist like Courtcraft in the UK or ASB service teams across Europe. Annual service contracts typically run £2,000-5,000 per court.
• Bar and café staff. Part-time, scaled to opening hours.
• Bookkeeping and admin. Usually outsourced at this scale.

The two roles that determine whether the club succeeds or not are the manager and the head coach. Underpay either one and retention collapses.

Step 7: Marketing and member acquisition

Squash clubs do not succeed on paid advertising. They succeed on community building and visible play. The acquisition channels that actually work:

• Pre-opening ambassador programme. Recruit 20-30 local squash players as founding members 3-6 months before opening. They fill the opening calendar and become your referral engine.
• School partnerships. Free taster sessions and after-school clubs create 10-year pipeline value. This is how US facilities fill daytime slots that would otherwise be dead.
• League integration. Register with regional leagues from day one. League matches are the most reliable source of recurring midweek bookings.
• Corporate memberships. Local businesses buy blocks of memberships or tournament sponsorships. Higher revenue per user than individuals.
• Pay-and-play and introductory offers. Lower the barrier for first-time players, then convert to membership.
• Local media and community PR. A new squash club is genuinely news in most cities. Use the opening to generate coverage.

The Merthyr Squash Club in South Wales grew to around 70 adult members by focusing on fun, inclusivity and junior development rather than marketing spend. That template works at any scale.

Step 8: Technology and booking systems

Modern squash clubs run on cloud booking platforms. The table of incumbents:

Pick the platform that integrates with your national federation's rating system. Players follow their ratings, and clubs that do not support the dominant local rating system lose competitive members to those that do.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to open a squash club?

Realistic planning range for a four-court city club is seven figures in euro terms before VAT, rising sharply with central city property costs or premium glass show courts. The main drivers are property (buy vs lease), court systems, and fit-out. Single-court installations in Poland start from around PLN 150,000 net for the court itself according to SQUASHTECH, but that is before building costs. Get itemised quotes from three WSF-accredited suppliers before fixing any number in your business plan.

How long does it take to build a squash court?

Court assembly itself is fast, typically 2-6 weeks for a prefabricated WSF-accredited system once groundworks and building shell are ready. The critical path is usually planning permission (8-16 weeks in the UK), building works (3-9 months depending on scope), and fit-out (4-8 weeks). Total project timeline from site acquisition to opening is typically 12-18 months.

Do I need to be a squash player to run a squash club?

Helpful but not essential. What matters more is hiring a strong head coach who commands respect in the local squash community, and a manager who understands member-based leisure businesses. Some of the most successful multi-court facilities are run by investors who play recreationally but rely on specialist staff for the sport-specific decisions.

Is squash a profitable business?

Yes for well-run facilities with programming, marginal for court-only operations. The Squash Facilities Network documents annual revenue per court of USD 100,000 to 500,000 in US operations, with top-tier clubs generating multiples of that figure per court through coaching, events and ancillary revenue. Single-use facilities relying only on court rental struggle in mature markets. Multi-sport facilities combining squash with padel, pickleball or fitness are increasingly the default profitable model.

Should I add padel or pickleball courts to a new squash club?

Seriously consider it. UK padel participation grew 128% between June 2023 and Q2 2025. A hybrid facility diversifies revenue, shares fixed costs, and hedges against sport-specific decline cycles. The operational challenge is that padel, pickleball and squash have different scheduling patterns and member demographics. Multi-sport works if you plan it in from day one, retrofitting is expensive.

What court systems should I specify?

WSF-accredited systems from established manufacturers. ASB (Germany) is the global market leader with over 6,000 courts delivered in 70+ countries, Courtcraft (UK) for the UK market, SQUASHTECH (Poland) for Central Europe, The Court Company for North America. Avoid cement and plaster walls in new builds, the lifecycle cost of annual maintenance and refinishing wipes out the upfront saving.

Can a squash club survive without a café or bar?

In theory yes, in practice rarely. Ancillary revenue is typically 15-30% of total revenue, but more importantly, the café and bar are where squash communities actually form. Clubs without social space see faster member churn and lower referral rates. The cheapest version is a self-service coffee machine and a fridge with beer, the most common is a small licensed bar staffed during peak hours.