According to the accompanying table and charts, a “typical” racquetball court had the largest year-over-year increase in construction costs in May 2008 (+4.6% on average for 25 major centers) among four types of recreational structures monitored by RSMeans. In second place was an enclosed swimming pool (+3.9%), followed by a bowling alley (+3.0%) and a hockey rink or indoor soccer arena (+2.9%).

As for the actual dollar-per-square-foot cost of construction, an enclosed swimming pool is most expensive to build. A racquetball court and a hockey rink/indoor soccer arena are about 20% cheaper on a dollar-per-square-foot basis, and then it is another large step down to a bowling alley − less than half the cost per square foot of an enclosed swimming pool.

Chicago and Los Angeles Lead in Year-over-year Cost Increases
Among the 25 cities shown, Chicago and Los Angeles were virtually tied for greatest year-over-year percentage increase in construction costs, ranging from +4.0% for a hockey rink/soccer arena to almost +6.0% for a racquetball court. Only slightly behind were two other California cities and the nation’s capital − San Francisco, San Diego and Washington. Boston, Philadelphia, Dallas, New Orleans and Miami rounded out the Top 10 in terms of cost increases.

Large cities in the middle of the pack for cost increases were Portland, New York, Atlanta, Pittsburgh and Phoenix. Major cities with the lowest year-over-year construction cost gains were Denver, Detroit, Houston, Minneapolis and Kansas City .

A Regional Perspective on Construction Costs

The dollar per square foot level of construction costs may be quite different than the year-over-year percentage change. Therefore, it is well to consider which cities are the most expensive in which to build and which are relatively cheaper.

New York is the costliest city in which to build in the United States, with San Francisco in second place. Boston, Philadelphia and Chicago form the next tier. Minneapolis, Los Angeles and San Diego are also relatively expensive.

Major cities that are relatively low cost are Atlanta, Miami, Phoenix, Houston and Dallas. It is interesting to note that the city on the Potomac, Washington, lies just slightly below the middle of the pack.

It is also informative to provide some regional construction cost comparisons. For example, it costs almost 30% more to build in Chicago than in Atlanta and there is a similar spread between high-cost Philadelphia and low-cost Miami. Finally, the premium between the highest-cost city, New York, and the lowest-cost city in the table, Winston Salem, is +68%.

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