The answer depends on each school’s budget and priorities. Some focus on essential equipment, while others fill their space with a full range of products and custom branding. Start with how your teams train and the size of your largest training group. These two factors should guide your layout and equipment selection.
School weight rooms typically range from 5–40 rack stations, with each station accommodating 2–5 athletes. To understand and compare costs, we recommend breaking the budget down by price per station. Each station includes the essentials: a rack, barbell, plates, collars, an adjustable bench, and storage to keep everything organized and within reach. Our Progression Package builds on this foundation with simple, versatile attachments that expand training options. The package includes the following items:
-285 SD Custom Weight Set
-All Purpose Bar
-Lock Jaw Pro 2 Barbell Collar
-Band Pack 2
-Glute Ham Roller
-Adjustable Landmine
-Injection Molded Alpha Roller
-Alpha Bench
Price Per Station
To compare pricing across our rack models, we used the same basic setup for each: an STR Rack Package, Basic Alpha Bench, 285 lb Stray Dog Weight Set, Lock Jaw Collars and All Purpose Barbell. STR stands for “straight” and refers to the rack’s 43" straight chin-up bar, which comes standard in black texture powder coating. Our top package option, MG, stands for “Multi-Grip” and adds a Multi-Grip Chin-Up Bar to a 43" crossmember at the front of the rack.
Alpha STR Half Rack basic station=$5,539.48 MSRP
Alpha STR Double Half Rack basic station= $9,950.20 MSRP (Two Stations)
Alpha STR Full Rack basic station= $6,265.10 MSRP
Alpha STR Full/Half Combo Rack basic station= $10,648.95 MSRP (Two Stations)
The Alpha STR Double Half Rack is our most cost-effective option at $4,975.10 per station or $9950.20 for both sides, saving $564.48 per station compared with individual Half Racks. Its shared weight-storage upright also reduces the footprint of each station, allowing you to fit more lifting stations in your room. This is why the STR Alpha Double Half Rack has been our best-selling rack since the Alpha Racks were created.
Additional Equipment
Build your budget around enough rack stations to train your largest group efficiently, ideally with 2–3 athletes per station. Then add Lat Pulldowns, Leg Curl/Extension units, Monkey Bar Bridges, or Alpha Arms as space and budget allow. Avoid cutting from 10 stations to eight just to afford attachments. Prioritize training capacity first. Our modular racks let you add features later as your program and budget grows.
Our modular ATR Systems combine cable training, storage, rack attachments, and optional barbell stations in one unit. Shown above at Dublin Jerome High School, this custom ATR features six Cable Columns. Two pairs are connected by 43" crossmembers to create overflow lifting stations while also storing slam balls and other training accessories.
Flooring Costs
Our in-house flooring team handles design, product selection, and installation, giving schools one point of contact from start to finish. Plan to allocate 20–30% of your facility budget to flooring: basic layouts without platforms or logos typically fall around 20–25%, while custom designs with platforms, logos, agility ladders, and other features can exceed 30%. Installation quality matters as much as product selection. Even the same ECORE flooring can perform differently depending on the installer’s skill, with mistakes taking months to appear as moisture buildup, adhesive failure, or bubbling.
Maintenance/Improvements Budget
Most of our equipment can last 20+ years with proper care, but balls, bands, and cables require periodic replacement. Bands lose resistance over time, and pairing old and new bands can create uneven loading. Our machine cables are rated for approximately 200,000 cycles, though actual lifespan depends on use, maintenance, and wear. Plan to budget $1,000–$5,000 annually for replacements, upgrades, and additions to keep your facility performing at its best. For cable care tips, read our Cable Machine Maintenance article.
Invest In Coaching
A state-of-the-art facility is only as effective as its coaching and programming. Before spending $350,000 on equipment, consider allocating $50,000+ toward a full-time strength coach. If that is out of reach, explore part-time coaching or contracted services such as OSU Sports Medicine or Black Sheep Performance. Investing in coaching may benefit your athletes more than additional equipment. Our Stray Dog Performance System helps schools without a strength coach bridge the gap with practical resources and ready-to-use high school training programs.
Costs To Avoid
Often in schools espesially ones without strength coaches, they put in too many cardio pieces. These cardio pieces are usually used by and are reccomneded by teachers who want to use the space as a fitness center. While this is a good idea if you have the space and cost to create a high functioning sports perfomrance center, but if you have to eliminate rack stations or machines in order to put in treadmills you are prioritizing the wrong aspects. Also treadmills like the ones shown below, are around $10,000 each and take up a large footprint, if you can create a dedicated fitness center this would be the place for these, not in the sports performance center.
Conclusion
Start with the largest group your school needs to train at one time. That number helps determine how many lifting stations to budget for. Plan on about $5,400 per station for a rack, bench, barbell, plates, and collars. Flooring typically accounts for 20 to 30% of the facility budget. Basic layouts generally fall around 20 to 25%, while custom designs with inlaid platforms, logos, or agility ladders can exceed 30%. Our flooring team handles design, product selection, and installation, giving you one point of contact throughout the project. Your sales rep will walk you through a detailed quote and rendering so you can see how the facility will come together and know what’s included before installation begins. Click here to begin the design!
