Distinguished Facilities: Lucky Thirteen
It’s hard to beat these excellent examples of residential court construction.
Here are some quick stats on the 13 winners of the 2011 Racquet Sports Industry/American Sports Builders Association Distinguished Facility-of-the-Year Awards in the “residential court” category: 10 of the winners are new construction; 11 are hard courts, two are clay; five are post-tensioned concrete courts; and two are indoors. For many of these winners, court builders seemed most adept at overcoming difficulties accessing the construction sites, or stabilizing steeply sloped sites.
At the Berce residence in Franksville, Wis., it was discovered that the electrical, telephone and cable lines ran under the construction area for the new court. The utility companies had to be called in to, first, run temporary lines to the house so the excavation could get started, then place the permanent lines around the court perimeter.
Located down a long alley, access at the Bourne residence in Salt Lake City was limited, so trees were trimmed and concrete was poured from an empty lot behind the property. The contractor also changed the slope of the original court away from the house to a compound slope that directed water into a new dry well.
A granite ledge at one end of the Cohen residence site in Weston, Mass., along with a 21-foot elevation difference, made construction extremely difficult. About 10,000 cubic yards of structural fill had to be brought in and compacted, and cranes were needed to get equipment into the site.
Access also was difficult at the Cox residence in Ogden, Utah, where the asphalt court was upgraded to a post-tensioned concrete court. The site was on the side of a mountain, held up by a 17-foot retaining wall below grade on one side, with a 6-foot wall above grade on the other side. The new court at the Crossland/Kirkpatrick residence in Napa, Calif., had to fit between a stand of oak trees protected by Napa County, a new vineyard, and an existing building.
Built into a hillside, the new court in Glen Ellen, Calif., required a large and complex drainage system to prevent water from vineyard irrigation and the hillside from undermining the court. A large wall constructed on the hillside doubles as a hitting wall. The JJJ Ranch in Dawson, Texas, put in a new, post-tensioned concrete court that has multisport capabilities (basketball, volleyball, shuffleboard) and is suitable for other entertainment purposes for the working ranch — all blending into the natural setting.
A 250-foot access road had to be built to reach the heavily wooded, hillside site at the Kirslis residence in Norwell, Mass. To help fix the steep elevation change, 450 tons of recycled road base was trucked in to replace material that had been removed. The new post-tensioned concrete court at the Roberts residence in Wellesley, Mass., was made as an extension to the house by matching the foundation grades and excavating around 12-foot retaining walls.
One of the two soft-court winners was the new subsurface-irrigated court at the Gin Lane residence in Southampton, N.Y., which also included creative landscaping and a decorative, yet functional, fence enclosure. The other soft-court winner was a Miami Beach residence that upgraded everything, including converting from above-ground watering to a subsurface irrigation system. The site provided no access, so all equipment and material had to lifted in by crane.
One of the private indoor courts, at Butternut Hollow in Greenwich, Conn., includes a 500-square-foot fitness area, shower and storage area. The brick and concrete building, complete with steel trusses, was set into the rocky ground so that the exterior appearance is that of a single-story accessory building. The indoor court at the Schmidt residence in West Linn, Ore., had to contend with a site heavy with trees, and with drainage concerns regarding interfering with the household septic system.
For details on the 2012 Outstanding Facility-of-the-Year Awards, contact the ASBA at 866-501-ASBA or info@sportsbuilders.org, or visit sportsbuilders.org.
Berce Residence, Franksville, Wis.
(Nominated by Munson Inc., Glendale, Wis.)
General Contractor: Munson Inc.
Consultant: Fred Kolkmann, Tennis & Sport Surfaces LLC
Color Coating: California Products
Lights: Har-Tru Sports
Net, Posts: JA Cissel
Bourne Residence, Salt Lake City, Utah
(Nominated by Tennis and Track Co., Salt Lake City)
General Contractor: Tennis and Track Co.
Lights: LSI Courtsider XL
Net, Posts, Windscreens: Douglas
Center Straps, Anchors: Douglas
Butternut Hollow, Greenwich, Conn.
(Nominated by Global Sports & Tennis Design Group LLC, Fair Haven, N.J.)
Design Consultant: Global Sports & Tennis Design Group LLC
Surface: Ace Surfaces Inc. Rebound Ace
Net, Posts: Douglas
Padding/Backdrops: JA Cissel
Cohen Residence, Weston, Mass.
(Nominated by Cape & Island Tennis & Track, Pocasset, Mass.)
Specialty Contractor: Cape & Island Tennis & Track
Surface: Beynon Sport Surfaces polyurethane cushion
Color Coating: DecoTurf
Lights: LSI Courtsider Aero System
Net, Posts, Anchor: JA Cissel
Drainage: ACO Sport
Cox Residence, Ogden, Utah
(Nominated by Tennis and Track Co., Salt Lake City)
Surface: World Class
Net, Posts, Windscreens: Douglas
Center Strap, Anchor: Douglas
Drainage: ACO Sport
Crossland/Kirkpatrick Residence, Napa, Calif.
(Nominated by Vintage Contractors Inc., San Francisco)
Contractor, Architect/Engineer: Vintage Contractors Inc.
Surface: California Products Plexicushion
Net, Posts: Fraser Edwards Co. LLC
Fencing: Vintage Contractors Inc.
Gin Lane, Southampton, N.Y.
(Nominated by Global Sports & Tennis Design Group LLC, Fair Haven, N.J.)
Surface: Hamptons Tennis Co.
Irrigation: Har-Tru Sports HydroCourt
Net, Posts: Edwards
Maintenance Equipment: Har-Tru Sports
Glen Ellen Residence, Glen Ellen, Calif.
(Nominated by Vintage Contractors Inc., San Francisco)
Architect/Engineer: Backen Gillam Architects
General Contractor: Jim Murphy Associates
Specialty Contractor: Vintage Contractors Inc.
Surface: California Products Plexicushion
Net, Posts, Drain: Fraser Edwards Co. LLC
Fencing: Jim Murphy Associates
JJJ Ranch, Dawson, Texas
(Nominated by Patriot Court Systems Inc., Houston)
Contractor: Patriot Court Systems Inc.
Surface: California Products Plexipave
Lights: TechLight
Net, Posts: Edwards
Volleyball Net: Douglas
Kirslis Residence, Norwell, Mass.
(Nominated by Boston Tennis Court Construction Co. Inc., Hanover, Mass.)
Specialty Contractor: Boston Tennis Court Construction Co. Inc.
Surface: Nova Sports USA
Net, Posts: JA Cissel
Miami Beach Residence, Miami Beach, Fla.
(Nominated by Fast-Dry Courts, Pompano Beach, Fla.)
Specialty Contractor: Fast-Dry Courts
Surface: Har-Tru Sports HydroBlend
Sub-Irrigated System: Fast-Dry Courts
Fencing: Fast-Dry Courts
Drainage: Zurn Industries
Court Accessories: Fast-Dry Courts
Schmidt Residence, West Linn, Ore.
(Nominated by Atlas Track & Tennis, Tualatin, Ore.)
Surface: California Products Plexipave
Lights: LSI Courtsider
Net, Center Strap: Douglas
Backdrop Curtains, Padding: M. Putterman
Roberts Residence, Wellesley, Mass.
(Nominated by Cape & Island Tennis & Track, Pocasset, Mass.)
Specialty Contractor: Cape & Island Tennis & Track
Surface: California Products DecoTurf
Cushion Surface: Beynon Sport Surfaces polyurethane
Lights: LSI Courtsider Aero System
Net, Posts, Anchor: JA Cissel
Drainage: ACO Sport
See all articles by Peter Francesconi
About the Author
Peter Francesconi is editorial director of Tennis Industry magazine.
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