When was the White House basketball court first built and by whom?

1. Origins: A tennis court turned multi‑sport surface

The modern White House basketball court was not built as a separate new facility; it resulted from converting or adapting the existing South Lawn tennis court so it could be used for both tennis and basketball — an alteration made early in the Obama administration in 2009 ^{[1] [3]}. Reporting and archived White House materials say the change involved adding basketball hoops and court markings rather than constructing a standalone basketball building ^{[1] [3]}.

2. Pre‑existing courts and earlier history

The White House grounds already hosted a smaller outdoor court since 1991; the 2009 adaptation expanded usable space so a full-court basketball game could be played on the adapted tennis court ^[1]. Multiple outlet timelines of presidential renovations list the tennis-to-basketball adaptation among post‑war, modest on‑site additions presidents have made to the grounds ^{[4] [5]}.

3. Who was responsible: Presidential decision, supported by staff

Sources consistently attribute the change to President Barack Obama and his interest in basketball — the archives recount that “shortly after taking office, President Obama had the White House tennis court adapted” ^[1]. Fact‑checks emphasize this was a modest reconfiguration tied to the president’s personal pastime and not a large, standalone construction project ^{[6] [3]}.

4. Scale and cost: Not a multimillion‑dollar standalone project

Multiple fact‑checks and reporting note the adaptation was a modest upgrade — adding hoops and markings — and not a lavish, multi‑hundred‑million‑dollar build. Claims that Obama spent hundreds of millions on a White House basketball court are widely debunked in current coverage; the archive and contemporary fact checks describe a relatively small, incremental change ^{[6] [3]}. Detailed cost figures are not provided in the available sources, but reporting frames the work as an adaptation of existing facilities rather than a major capital project ^{[1] [3]}.

5. Public use and symbolism: Games and guests

The adapted court has hosted college basketball championship teams and programs such as Wounded Warriors, becoming a visible element of presidential culture and outreach rather than a private, hidden amenity ^{[1] [2]}. Coverage treats the court as part of the informal, recreational side of the presidency — an expression of Obama’s public association with basketball ^[7].

6. Contemporary context and competing narratives

In 2025 debates over a large Trump‑era ballroom project, the White House and supporters pointed to past presidents’ smaller additions — including Obama’s basketball adaptation — to argue precedent for changes to the grounds ^{[8] [7]}. Independent outlets, however, distinguish scale: the 2009 adaptation is presented as a modest multi‑use conversion, while reporting on the 2025 ballroom frames that project as a much larger, controversial structural change ^{[9] [4]}.

7. Limits of available reporting and unanswered questions

Available sources document the who (Obama), when (shortly after taking office in 2009), and the nature of the work (adaptation of the tennis court) but do not give a detailed itemized cost or architectural plans for the 2009 alteration in the materials provided here ^{[1] [6]}. If you want exact accounting, contractor names, or construction permits from 2009, those specifics are not found in the current reporting and would require digging into archived White House procurement records or historical‑association files (not found in current reporting).

8. Bottom line: Accurate short answer

The White House basketball court in its present form dates to a 2009 adaptation of the South Lawn tennis court ordered by President Barack Obama; it was an alteration—adding hoops and markings—rather than construction of a separate basketball facility, and it built on an earlier smaller court that existed since 1991 ^{[1] [2]}.