suggested min/max slope for outdoor basketball court 1

[ngneer]

anyone have experience with setting slopes for outdoor, asphalt paved playing surfaces? arch. graph standards recommends slope range of .83% - 1% for tennis courts, but typically parking lots have min. of 2% to prevent bird baths. is 2% too steep to play basketball? the court will slope diagonally to mirror existing contours as much as possible, although again references suggest side-to-side or end-to-end is preferable. thanks in advance

 

[BigH]

When we were kids, we liked the court flat! But a small slope would be okay but I wouldn't like 2% - it could throw off the LeBron James in me!! I played on a first rate home court in Indiana once - it was flat; they had a squeegee to remove the water in the rain. - sorry I don't have a standard on the court slopes but I could send you the official dimensions of things!)

 

[LHA]

I don't know if 2% would inhibit basketball play, but BC asphalt or concrete (installed correctly) at 1% will drain sufficiently.

I would also imagine diagonal sloping would be less preferred, as play will tend to move up and down or across court. Can't you break the grade in both directions (from center court) with ex. contours, and balance cut:fill that way?

Remember: The Chinese ideogram for “crisis” is comprised of the characters for “danger” and “opportunity.”
-Steve

 

[TerryScan]

I recently searched the web for information on this very thing. I did get various answers. Some stated a maximum of 2%, others a minimum of 2%. (I settled for a 1% slope.)

While it is typical for us engineers to want to break the grade in the middle, several sites specifically discouraged a grade break in the playing surface. Rather, they suggest side to side, end to end, or corner to corner.

 

[ngneer]

thanks and i too have witnessed contrasting info. of max 2% min 2%. also, arch graph. standards states that least favorable case is sloping to or from center for courts. the surface must be one true plane. i'll design with 1.25% to 1%.