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Home Court Advantage

These residential court winners showcase creativity and detailing

By Peter Francesconi

The award-winning multi-court facilities we feature each year in RSI are wonderfully constructed, but when it comes to really showcasing details and creativity, sometimes it’s just hard to beat the single residential court winners in the Racquet Sports Industry/American Sports Builders Association Facility-of-the-Year Awards.

For 2010, there were three residential court winners of RSI/ASBA awards. We featured the “Outstanding” winner in our February 2011 issue (the Justman Residence of Calabasas, Calif.), and on these pages, we show the two “Distinguished” winners — one a new project and one an upgrade from an existing court.

Despite the Notre Dame logo on the court surface, the owner of the court at the Back Residence in Indiana decided to go with the popular US Open “blue” color for his cushioned hard court. This new post-tension concrete court was a design/build project by the court contractor, using the owner’s employees for much of the sub work. Included in the job were the vinyl-coated fencing, lighting (six fixtures) and adding a basketball goal to the court.

The court is sunken into a hillside so it isn’t a visual obstruction from the road, but the site required retaining walls on all sides. Hand-cut stone fasciae were applied, and light switches were grouted into the stone wall. Perimeter subsurface drainage and surface drainage were installed. There’s a decorative stone walkway leading to the court.

The clay court at the Deane Residence in Massachusetts is an upgrade of a court that was built in 1980 but had fallen into disrepair, until the current owner bought the property and wanted to rehabilitate it. The original court was slightly undersized (57 by 120 feet), with only four light poles with quartz floodlights.

The only portions of the original court deemed salvageable were the crusher run and stone dust base materials, and about half an inch of the fast-dry surface; at least a quarter-inch layer of the contaminated fast-dry was removed. The old fence, lighting system, irrigation system, net posts and red brick curb were removed and disposed of. Then the area was widened to 60 feet with the addition of gravel, crusher run and stone dust, and the court was re-centered.

The new court now has eight lighting fixtures on 4-inch-square poles and new powder-coated aluminum fencing. A perimeter curb was built with 2 by 8 inch bluestone of varying lengths. Another creative touch was using an abutting ledge outcropping 4 feet above court surface: a stone slab patio was laid on top of the ledge with stone steps leading up to it to create a shaded and elevated viewing area.

— Peter Francesconi

Back Residence, Brookville, Ind.

(Nominated by Leslie Coatings Inc., Indianapolis, Ind.)

General Contractor: Leslie Coatings Inc.

Surface: Plexipave

Lighting: LSI Courtsider XL

Net Posts, Nets: Douglas Industries

Deane Residence, Cohasset, Mass.

(Nominated by Boston Tennis Court Construction Co. Inc., Hanover, Mass.)

Specialty Contractor: Boston Tennis Court Construction Co. Inc.

Surface: Lee Tennis Court Products

Lighting: LSI Courtsider

Net, Line Tapes: J.A. Cissel

Net Posts: Edwards/Rol-Dri Div. of Athletic Connection

For details on the 2011 Outstanding Facility-of-the-Year Awards, contact the ASBA at 866-501-ASBA or info@sportsbuilders.org, or visit sportsbuilders.org.

See all articles by Peter Francesconi

About the Author

Peter Francesconi is editorial director of Tennis Industry magazine.

From the June 2011 issue
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