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Distinguished Facilities: Lucky Thirteen

It’s hard to beat these excellent examples of residential court construction.

By Peter Francesconi

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.

From the June 2012 issue
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