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Distinguished Facility-of-the-Year Awards: Soft Landing

These outdoor facility winners are excellent examples of soft-court construction.

By Peter Francesconi

There were nine outdoor tennis facilities that took honors in the Racquet Sports Industry/American Sports Builders Association Distinguished Facility-of-the-Year Awards for 2012, and four of those we’re classifying as soft-court projects.

The lone non-Florida winner, in California, involved building both a new clay court and a new hard court. But we’re including it here to help offset the stranglehold Florida seems to have on building award-winning soft-court facilities. We certainly applaud the number of amazing clay-court facilities in the Sunshine State and the skill of the companies building them, but we have to believe there are award-winning soft-court projects in other states, too, which we’d love to hear about (see box for details on the 2013 Facility-of-the-Year Awards).

The Toscana Country Club in California is one such example. The contractor built a new fast-dry court and a new post-tensioned concrete court for the club. The project included site grading, utilities, walls, curbing, fencing, lighting, landscaping, storage areas, walkways and tennis pavilions, and the finished project provides players with all the amenities, including seating at the courts, shaded areas and a spectator viewing area.

The Doral Park Country Club in Florida added four new HydroGrid courts (in two two-court batteries) to its existing facility. The new courts are adjacent to the existing courts, so fencing had to be modified to provide the appearance that the whole facility was constructed during a single build.

The centerpiece of the Sports Club at Mediterra is the new, recessed “coliseum court.” The club’s director of tennis, Tim Bauer, designed the court, pergola and terraced viewing area, surrounded by a stone wall and lush landscaping. The project had to overcome a flood when severe weather struck the site during construction.

The Timber Pines Community Association took out asphalt courts and installed six new clay courts. The facility was on two levels, with a retaining wall dividing the north three courts from the south courts, so there needed to be two points of access for construction.

— Peter Francesconi

Timber Pines Community Association Inc.
Spring Hill, Fla.
(Nominated by Welch Tennis Courts Inc., Sun City, Fla.)
Specialty Contractor: Welch Tennis Courts Inc.
No. of Courts: 6
Surface: Har-Tru Sports Hydroblend
Subsurface Irrigation: Welch Tennis HydroGrid
Nets, Posts: Welch Tennis

Doral Park Country Club
Doral, Fla.
(Nominated by Welch Tennis Courts Inc., Sun City, Fla.)
Specialty Contractor: Welch Tennis Courts Inc.
No. of Courts: 4
Surface: Har-Tru Sports Hydroblend
Subsurface Irrigation: Welch Tennis HydroGrid
Windscreens, Nets, Posts: Welch Tennis Courts

The Sports Club at Mediterra
Naples, Fla.
(Nominated by Welch Tennis Courts Inc., Sun City, Fla.)
Architect/Engineer: Global Design
Specialty Contractor: Welch Tennis Courts Inc.
No. of Courts: 1
Surface: Har-Tru Sports Hydroblend
Subsurface Irrigation: Welch Tennis HydroGrid
Windscreens, Nets, Posts: Welch Tennis Courts

Toscana Country Club
Indian Wells, Calif.
(Nominated by Zaino Tennis Courts Inc., Orange, Calif.)
Specialty Contractor: Zaino Tennis Courts Inc.
No. of Courts: 2 (1 soft, 1 hard)
Surface: Har-Tru Sports, Plexipave
Net Posts: Edwards
Lights, Poles: Visionaire
Fencing: Zaino Tennis Courts Inc.
Court Accessories: Har-Tru Sports

For details on the 2013 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 April 2013 issue
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