This series is designed to walk you step by step, through every process, problem and thought I have as I build out my dream beach volleyball facility. I am documenting the entire process for 4 main reasons:

1) To teach, help and inspire other people who want to do something similar.

2) To clear up my thoughts. When I write, it gives me clarity.

3) Generate support and buzz for when we actually open! 

4) I might need you, the reader, at some point along the way.

If you haven't read Part 1 - The Background and The Dream. Click this link and check it out.

Beach Volleyball Facility Location: Does It Really Matter?

Here's the main question we need to answer in this article: Is location important?

You've all heard the phrase "Location. Location. Location." But does it really apply to beach volleyball facilities?

Well... maybe. 

But I will start with this, the majority of the facilities I've seen with years of successful operations are in seemingly random locations.

Successful Beach Volleyball Facilities in Unexpected Locations

Sandbar in Salt Lake City is 25 minutes from downtown SLC but sits among warehouses and refineries.

Grand Sands in Loveland, Ohio sits on a former lumber yard. Again though it's about 25 minutes from downtown Cincinnati.

When you visit Third Coast in Houston, it actually feels like you've entered the rough part of town, and you have but when you walk through the fence, you're in a beach paradise.

Beach House in Boston is truly off the beaten path.

High Line in New Jersey tried to get a central enough spot near New York City but that would also tap into it's existing tournament players on the Jersey Shore. Again though, no signage or billboards from major streets or highways and this isn't the place you'd just happen upon.

If you go as far as Norway, their beach volleyball high school is quite literally in the middle of the frozen wilderness in the north of the country where NO ONE lives.

Many others partner with bars or actually ARE primarily bars/restaurants.

Why Some Beach Volleyball Facilities Struggle with Location

Hyden Beach in Tennessee, which has legendary beach volleyball player, John Hyden as its headliner has struggled to pop in terms of revenue and he says it's because his location is quite literally far out in the rolling hills and horse farms. On the far outskirts of Nashville, It's not on the way to or from work for people. They also have no bar or restaurant and since their courts are all outdoor, it's a hard ask for people to endure 40-50 degree weather in the winter. His club and training sessions have been rolling along healthily but not many leagues ere money can really be made and there's no peripheral revenue from a bar or restaurant.

From what I've seen, 30-45 minutes from at least a mid major city or downtown is where most owners set up shop. Ideally, if you want to make a big return on investment, in terms of revenue. You should be a reasonable drive from where people live and/or work.

Beach Volleyball Facility Space Requirements and Parking

The problem trying to set up on main streets is usually the size of the land you need. Keep this in mind because one of the hard lessons learned from LJ Luciano of ATX Beach in Austin, Texas was that you usually need as much space for parking as you do for the actual courts. However many courts, you want, you need to double that when filtering for property acreage on your search.

After going through codes and permitting in St. Petersburg, they require 10 parking spots per volleyball court... AND THEN, you've got to add more for each amenity. If you have a bar, you need to add parking spots for the amount of people that the bar can seat/handle. If you have a fitness center, you need parking spots for that too so the space you need really starts to add up.

Choosing Between States: Tennessee vs Florida for Beach Volleyball

In the last two years, I searched hundreds of properties. I spent hours and hours of going through Loopnet, Crexi, Zillow, etc to find a place where my dream could work.

I started my search in two main areas. The first one was Chattanooga, Tennessee. I really believe that city is due to pop once the people from Nashville get sick of how "City" their town is becoming, they'll look for a smaller, less expensive city. Chattanooga has lots of land up for grabs. Like, 10, 20, 30 acres plots. It also has a small airport. But here's my wife and I stopped looking there:

1) We love to travel, visit family and have family visit us. Chattanooga Airport really only has connecting flights. So it becomes a pain for people to come in and for us to travel out.

2) We've built an army of people who want to travel for volleyball through Better at Beach. They come to our 3 day camps wherever we are but I still believe that our 7 Day Volleyball Training Vacations should live in environments where people want to spend their winter vacations anyway. We didn't think people would choose half of their vacation days to come to an indoor beach volleyball facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee in January. That being said, the vacations and training camps are an absolute afterthought for MY facility. Better at Beach will continue to see success with that model but my facility can't rely on that to truly generate wealth.

3) Volleyball culture. As I said, a facility would be successful over time pretty much anywhere, there is a population so long as the price is right but, in Chattanooga we'd have to really build a taste and an affinity for beach volleyball. It would happen, but it would take longer. Also, there is still no high school beach volleyball in Tennessee and beach volleyball clubs are sparse.

Florida is a state where beach volleyball is already a way of life. The beaches there have made the sport accessible. Several top universities field NCAA programs. Clubs are popping up everywhere and they challenge California for the best high school teams in the country.

There is a big bonus to choosing certain states. Taxes. Tennessee and Florida don't have income tax and living expenses can be a lot lower compared to California.

We could always stay in California and get torn apart by the restrictive business regulations and have them take half of our income through taxes but if I want "work" to be optional for me and my family in 7-10 years, it'll be easier to hold on to the extra money in tax and business friendly states. There is a world though, where we stay somewhere in California to be closer to her family. Time will tell.

That all might be meaningless if you're building your own spot and you want to do it near "home". But my wife and I believe this is the right long term choice for us and who can go wrong with those warm Florida evenings?

Why St. Petersburg, Florida is Perfect for Beach Volleyball Facilities

St. Pete and Tampa are two of the fastest growing populations and economies in the U.S. There are also loads of volleyball players there. Aside from tournament weekends, however. The courts are dispersed and one of the major complaints from players there is that they don't have enough permanent places to play. Several of those places are in public parks where amenities and facilities like bathrooms are no where to be found. The beach volleyball population there, longs for more courts.

With Better at Beach we've had some of our most successful camps in St. Pete because it's such a winter destination. I have two airbnb's there that kill it. Between Tampa, St. Pete and Clearwater, beach volleyball is already thriving but in terms of court space and a great place to hang out, the area is lacking.

In summary, beach volleyball courts can "work" anywhere. Once you build the spot and the audience, people will continue to come if you do right by your members and customers. If you're the only game in town like Sandbar in Salt Lake City was for a long time, you'll definitely have a leg up!

But how much money you make really depends on your expenses, your goals, your amenities and your programming. 

You can petition cities and parks to build courts and get exclusive use permits like Bend Beach Volleyball did. You can build 3 courts in your backyard and start a small club as an home business like I've seen in the suburbs of Atlanta. It all depends on your goals. For me and my family, one of the main goals is creating financial freedom for our family, while doing what we love AND in the process, generating wealth for our friends and investors. 

Everyone who has put their time or dollars behind my business and real estate endeavors has come out on top and while the line between investors and friends can be a delicate one, I love getting to say that I've been a part of creating wealth for my friends and family.

Beach Volleyball Facility Investment Opportunities ($60,000 Minimum)

Here's how you can choose to move forward.

1. Join (or stay on) my email list to watch the progress

2. Get on the investor list and get returns in perpetuity! (Minimum investment will be $60,000)

In my next article, I'm going to tell you all about how I found and chose the property.