if you had the land how would you build your own courts from scratch...
i've been wanting to build my own court(s) for awhile but its pretty costly...what are some inexpensive but durable ideas? even doing all the labor myself the materials alone pile up quick. i love the summer camp idea and i have some property and i have friends in a couple of different states with property...i think with how many summer tournaments there are already it might be better to have it in the south in the late, late fall or early, early spring while its still freezing up north. lake vs pool vs ocean? mountains vs desert vs beach? isolated vs rural vs urban?
entry fees go toward material recouping?
Winter tourneys in the southern parts of the world are awesome. L.A.'s first tournament went really well on that idea. A location at least near an urban center is ideal, just so that it's easy on the teams flying in.
The first step would be a solid slab of concrete, just getting that is pretty pricey. If you're intending to make it a permanent polo spot, you could build it up into a really sweet setup from tourney to tourney. I think most players would be willing to put down $10-$20 for any decent tourney, but past that you'll have to make it pretty clear where the money's going and all that. That's roughly $1200 for a 20 team tourney for startup costs, which isn't much at all in construction. If you can run with that, go for it. If not, I would suggest seriously scoping out the spots and the costs and putting in a bid for NAHBPC based on that- for such a large tournament, you can count on a larger number of participants and get away with a slightly higher entry fee.
Eventually having a hockey rink setup would be totally awesome, but I second the idea that there's nothing wrong with camping out and playing with makeshift boards from cheap lumber to start with.
Heavy machinery would probably be required to grade the soil. And for a slab of concrete that big there would probably need to be a layer of compacted gravel so the court doesn't settle wrong and crack. Totally depends on the site though. Still, even surveying costs money.
A single tournament would (likely) only bring in thousands of $'s, whereas a project like this would need tens of thousands of $'s.
That being said, I'd pay a decent amount to attend "polo camp", especially if our money and combined efforts were going into constructing a dedicated polo court. 1 week, 100 sets of hands, $100 a person. Let's build ourselves a pyramid!
What? Oh, OK...
1. I don't own that piece of land anymore. Times is hard. It wasn't any good for polo anyway.
2. To pour a/many slabs large enough for a decent polo court(s) is a tens of thousands of dollars-type proposition. If you want them to last, drain water without being so sloped that the ball rolls funny,not be cracked, etc. It's a lot a lot of work. Prohibitively expensive.
3. Polo camp is the best idea we've ever had. Bike polo spring break is pretty close to it for right now.
4. There are lots of odd places who may be willing to let us rent them out for a week in the summer that aren't strictly overnight camps, but do have lots of concrete and rural land to camp on.
For instance, I recently found out that a former lead mine in Sullivan, MO has slab-floor warehouses on their property that host an annual bluegrass jam/new year's party. There is also a former silica mine in Crystal City, MO that a guy is actually trying to turn into a sports complex. Who wants to play polo in a giant cave?
Chicago Bike Polo 2003-2008
St Louis Bike Polo 2008-fun
Who wants to play polo in a giant cave?
That depends, how's the echo?
PETE_of_C0M0P0L0
www.comopolo.com
I want to play polo in a giant cave. The "Count it!" heard forever.
_______
Marco!
I am the Duck.
Bike polo spring break
OTEN
i had this idea in my head along time ago we just need to find a camp somewhere close to a major city that has a few roller hockey courts and/or tennis courts rent it for 4 days and bam you could have the biggest longest running tourny ever
www.mkebikepolo.com
Uh.. I'm thinking of something like a entire city inner city block...on the ground level there would be some shops .. like a sweet bike store that Blue could run .. a liquor/pub spot .. a bit of space for my company office.. and a bit of other office space for rent .. a small grocery store for snacks and whatnot ..a tattoo shop.. then on the second level there would be two full size hockey courts .. nice smooth cement that wont eat up your tires .. one would be covered ( it tends to snow here ) .. nice bleachers and such to hang out and watch the games .. hell why not build apartments over the covered court with balconies that overlook the "summer" court..I know more could be added but just a thought for now ..
....BallAholics...Multiple Scoregasims...Thundercock...
it would be WAY more cost effective to find a warehouse that can fit two polo courts. You have an indoor court and you don't have to build shit. If you really are inclined. you can BUY this warehouse instead of renting forgoing any landlord issues with the sick wild tourney's / polo parties that go down. There would most likely be room for a small shop to work on bikes and possibly stock/sell things that are neccessary for playing bike polo. Economic times are hard as fuck, so down here in south florida there are hundreds of fixer upper warehouses that are going for nothing. WAY less than building your own courts in BFE who knows where. The posibilities are endless. You just need to think of a way to make it happen. What my suggestion really comes down to, aquire something that is already there. concrete ain't cheap.
actually, detroit is the place to do it. cheap as fuck right now. city blocks going for 15 grand. with warehouses on them.
we were just talking about Detroit...when I lived in ann arbor we used to go sneak/break into some of the abandoned factories/warehouses. some of them are huge inside...like 2 polo courts side by side huge with a perfectly smooth floor. say goodbye to the summer camp aspect, though, hahaha. I think it needs to be land with a prebuilt slab on or near a lake and isolated so noise would be a non-issue. I think building one from scratch will be just too cost prohibitive...
FTL BIKE POLO...
If it was built like a hockey rink I think it would be sweet to have a curve where the boards meet the concrete/pavement/whatever. Keep the ball from getting stuck in the corners.
:Edmonton Bike Polo:
It would have a surface like Philly's coax park where worlds final games were. It would be 60x140ft the wall would be 4ft vert with 6in cove at the bottom and with removable netted goals 700c wheel height but just above that 3inches or so,1ft deep with lazer detection score system and magnetic dapping sensor that you put on your shoes, with a digi score board above centerline. Subwoofers in every corner. wireless pa system, so i could commentate while playing or not. Ten ft behind net and bleachers with solar-led lit night court option. water ball so no run-a-way balls. Huge bbq pit and veggie gardens and Hops growing on the sunny side with the bleachers for shade and beer! Court would be called "count it polo ranch"
Messmann
bikepologuru
seattlebikepolo
since 1998
talk to Lucky
He has land next to the big river. Very centraly located
My suggestion is indoor/outdoor arena hockey style high boards with nets on both ends.
We could all pitch in on this. Order the pre-made boards throw down a huge smooth slab of concrete. Then let the overhead cheap car-port like stucture guys come in and do their thing.
WABAM! world class polo rink on private property.
We could start out camping, but I see cabins with gang showers (oh yea!)all paid for by throwing world class events there.
What do you say Lucky?
BOP!
Portland United
www.eighthinch.com