Meet David McAlpine | Sport Court Contractor

We had the good fortune of connecting with David McAlpine and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi David, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
After working for other people for the better part of 20 years, I just wanted to be my own boss. I didn’t want to have to answer to anyone else.

Before starting First Class Courts, I was working with my family business. Even thought I was a partner in the company, I didn’t have the freedom or the power to make decisions without running it by the other partners first. A lot of times my ideas or decisions would get shot down – even when I 100% believed that those decisions would be in the best interest of the company.

After the last year at my family’s business, I finally decided that I could no longer deal with not being totally in charge of where my company’s future was headed and decided to branch out on my own.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My business is a full service sport court contracting firm. We design, build, repair and maintain tennis, pickleball, and basketball court facilities.

We believe what sets us apart from our competitors is that we really do provide our customers with a “First Class” customer experience. Whereas many contractors price out work based solely on customer provided pictures, Google Earth images, or specifications received via e-mail, we actually visit and assess every potential job site; whether it is an existing facility or an empty lot where someone has hopes of building a world class facility. This ensures we are on the same page about the scope of the project and what is really needed to meet the goal my customer has in mind – eliminating the need for future change orders or failed “fixes”.

We also pride ourselves on the customer service experience. We are not just “sport court contractors” or construction contractors- we are customer service professionals. From the first phone call to the final walkthrough – our team is trained to be knowledgable, friendly and eager to help. Our “First Class” approach is our top marketing strategy – our clients refer us to their friends over and over.

At this stage in our companies growth, we are definitely the most excited about pickleball. Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in the United States and is currently played in 70 countries on Earth. Every day more and more pickleball courts and facilities are being built locally and abroad, and it’s a great feeling to know that we are able to build the worlds best pickleball courts.

What the world needs to know about our brand and story is that we are the hardest working team in our industry. I truly believe that. From being out on jobs building and resurfacing courts all day, to simultaneously providing our clients with the industries best product *and* a first class customer service experience… there is no way any of our competitors are outworking us.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I grew up down south, so the first two places that I always recommended are Shivers BBQ and Puerta Vallarta Mexican Seafood. Both are as good as it gets in their respective categories.

For something more upscale I recommended The Rusty Pelican and Monty’s in The Grove. Both have great food and a fun atmosphere for drinks.

My pick for favorite beach would be Crandon Park on Key Biscayne.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My dad definitely gets a shoutout. He started his business 40 years ago with no help and mentored me in both sport court construction and business ownership. While he and I may have different business goals, I wouldn’t be where I am today without his guidance.

My wife also gets a shoutout. She manages my website and SEO, my marketing… all of the things I am not an expert in.

Website: https://www.firstclasscourts.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/firstclasscourts

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/first-class-courts-inc/

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/firstclasscourt

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/firstclasscourts