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RSI/ASBA Facility-of-the-Year Awards

Style and substance.

By Peter Francesconi

RSI and the ASBA bring you the best in tennis court construction.

One of the striking things about the most recent crop of tennis facility winners in the RSI/American Sports Builders Association Facility-of-the-Year Awards is the number of facilities that have soft-court surfaces. Of the 22 total winners, 13 have soft surfaces. That includes some predominantly hard-court facilities that also offer players a few softer courts. (And there are additional winners that use a cushioned hard-court surface, too.)

Each year, based on entries submitted by an ASBA member — whether a contractor, designer or supplier — the association selects outstanding tennis facilities that meet the standard of excellence determined by the judging committee. For 2008, the panel of judges deemed 22 courts or tennis facilities to be outstanding, or “distinguished,” as the award reads.

Three of those winners, however, were chosen for special “Facility-of-the-Year” honors: the Pasternack Residence in Orange County, Calif., received the Residential Tennis Facility-of-the-Year Award; Pine Canyon in Flagstaff, Ariz., was honored with the Outdoor Tennis Facility-of-the-Year Award; and the Larson Sports Center at Jamestown College in North Dakota received the Indoor Multi-Purpose Facility-of-the Year Award.

The Pasternack Residence, new construction by Zaino Tennis Courts of Orange, Calif., uses a post-tension concrete foundation and Plexicushion surface in the popular US Open blue color. Zaino also handled installation of a channel drain and the lighting system, among many other tasks.

Pine Canyon is an exquisite private community in Flagstaff, Ariz., known for it’s great golf and scenery. Now, it has two new hard courts at its “Camp Pine Canyon” complex, which also includes three swimming pools. General Acrylics of Phoenix built the post-tension concrete courts and supplied the surface, in a kind of “design as we go” situation, where they worked closely with the general contractor to meet the changing ideas of the owner during construction.

The award-winning Larson Sports Center at Jamestown College in North Dakota has a multi-purpose indoor facility offering three tennis courts, among other uses, on a pre-fab rubber surface, put down by Kiefer Specialty Flooring. The installation included an overlay of an existing sports floor and the installation of a new sports floor on a new concrete slab, requiring contractors to resolve elevation differences between the two. And the tight schedule also posed problems with the curing of the concrete. But, in true winning fashion, the project was brought in on schedule, and within budget.

Distinguishing Honors

In addition to the Pasternack Residence private court, the Pine Canyon facility, and the Larson Sports Center at Jamestown College, these 19 locations were chosen by the 2008 panel of judges for the ASBA as excellent examples of court construction, receiving Distinguished Facility-of-the-Year Awards. You’ll read more about them in upcoming issues of Racquet Sports Industry. (The nominating company is in parentheses.)

• Brian Piccolo Park Tennis Center, Cooper City, Fla. (Fast-Dry Courts)
• City of Auburn/Auburn Univ. Yarbrough Tennis Center, Auburn, Ala. (Welch Tennis Courts)
• Constant at Diamond Mountain Vineyards, Calistoga, Calif. (Vintage Contractors Inc.)
• Fertita Tennis Complex, Univ. of Nevada–Las Vegas (L.E.R. Inc./Renner Sports Surfaces)
• Greenville-Greene County Tennis Center, Greenville, Tenn. (Baseline Sports Construction)
• Homewood Middle School, Homewood, Ala. (Holcombe Norton Partners)
• Islandwalk at the West Villages, Northport, Fla. (Welch Tennis Courts)
• Ortwein Residence, High Meadow Ranch, Magnolia, Texas (Patriot Court Systems)
• Palm Coast Tennis Center, Palm Coast, Fla. (Welch Tennis Courts)
• Palmilla Tennis Club at Villas de Oro, Los Cabos, Mexico (Global Sports & Tennis Design Group)
• Paseo-Fort Myers Facility, Fort Myers, Fla. (Welch Tennis Courts)
• Pilara Tenis Club Facility, Pilar, Argentina (Global Sports & Tennis Design Group)
• Private Residence, Boca Raton, Fla. (Fast-Dry Courts)
• Private Residence, Las Vegas, Nev. (Fast-Dry Courts)
• Private Residence, Napa, Calif. (Vintage Contractors Inc.)
• Samford University Outdoor Tennis Facility, Homewood, Ala. (Lower Bros. Co.)
• Samford University Indoor Tennis Facility, Homewood, Ala. (Lower Bros. Co.)
• Southeast Park & Tennis Complex, Columbia, S.C. (Global Sports & Tennis Design Group)
• Turnberry Isle Tennis Facility, Aventura, Fla. (Fast-Dry Courts)

Residential Tennis Facility-of-the-Year Award

Pasternack Residence

Orange County, Calif.

Specialty Contractor: Zaino Tennis Courts

General Contractor: Hobson Construction Inc.

Architect: Steven Phillips

Surface: Plexipave Plexicushion Prestige

Lights: Visionaire Lighting, Advantage Light Fixtures

Net, Net Posts: Edwards

Outdoor Tennis Facility-of-the-Year Award

Pine Canyon

Flagstaff, Ariz.

Specialty Contractor: General Acrylics Inc.

Surface: Gameco Products by General Acrylics

Nets, Straps, Posts, Windscreens: Douglas Industries

Indoor Multi-Purpose Facility-of-the-Year Award

Larson Sports Center

Jamestown College, Jamestown, N.D.

Specialty Contractor: Kiefer Specialty Flooring Inc.

Architect/Engineer: EAPC of Fargo, N.D.

General Contractor: Hillerud Construction

Surface: Mondo Rubber Sports Flooring

For details on the 2009 Distinguished Facility-of-the-Year Awards, contact the ASBA at 866-501-ASBA or info@sportsbuilders.org.

See all articles by Peter Francesconi

About the Author

Peter Francesconi is editorial director of Tennis Industry magazine.

From the February 2009 issue
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