Permeable Concrete for Sports Facilities

Permeable concrete sports facilities like this one need two different things from the same pour: a base under the padel courts that won't pond, and seating terraces above that won't pool underfoot. We used 25+ MPa Permcon in both zones.

What we poured

One continuous slab under each area, at the thickness that job called for. No joints to rock loose. The P4 slip rating means the terraces stay safe underfoot in the wet. Under the courts, the same mix gives an even, drained base instead of a sealed layer holding water beneath the playing surface.

Why we specified it this way

Seating terraces cop crowds between long gaps in the maintenance calendar. A downpour that leaves puddles on the steps is a bad look and a slip risk. The padel base had a narrower brief: stay flat and stable, and keep water from pooling under the surface above it.

How permeable concrete sports facilities perform

Water moves through the surface at 8,000 to 10,000 mm/hr and into a base of clean screenings underneath. Water clears the terrace steps without sheet flow, and doesn't bank up at a court edge. The base stores the storm and lets it go slowly, which takes pressure off the site's stormwater system and can shrink the detention a sealed slab would otherwise need.

Maintenance is light: a monthly look over and a yearly sweep. A wash sorts it if moss ever settles in. Council still decides what counts as pervious on a job like this; the surface only qualifies where the authority signs off.

Send us the plans for a court, a terrace, a car park or a full redevelopment and we'll tell you what each area needs. See how we build sports courts for the detail on bases, line layout and what gets cast in before the pour.