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Distinguished Facility-of-the-Year Awards: The Hard Facts

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

By Peter Francesconi

While the seven outdoor hard-court winners of the Tennis Industry/American Sports Builders Association distinguished Facility-of-the-Year Awards for 2013 are located from coast to coast, four of them are in the upper Midwest, with three in Wisconsin. Certainly, after a winter that dumped cold and snow across a huge swath of the upper Midwest, having new and renovated outdoor facilities ready for play in the spring will give tennis a nice boost in those areas.

The upgrade at the Cedarburg School District JV Tennis Complex in Cedarburg, Wis., involved the reconstruction of a 50-year-old tennis facility. The courts had been unusable for the last 10 years, and the school district originally wanted to remove them completely to add space to the nearby soccer complex. But tennis fans, and the public, rallied to the cause, and the district changed its plans and decided to rebuild the six courts, while still being able to provide more playing area for the soccer facility.

At the DeBot Tennis Facility on the campus of the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point, the existing facility was demolished to make way for an upgraded tennis complex with eight courts (in two batteries of four courts), including blended lines for tennis on 36- and 60-foot courts. The contractor had to remove large quantities of bedrock and boulders, which were beneath the existing courts, and also provide a storm-water management plan for storm-sewer additions on site. Amenities included three decorative concrete access walkways and two concrete plazas that provide bleacher seating and gathering areas for spectators and players.

The new Holland Public Schools Tennis Complex in Holland, Mich., part of a larger sports complex, has 12 post-tensioned concrete courts with a plaza area and circulation areas between each of the six two-court batteries. A central shelter was built to provide for tournament administration and for team gatherings. One of the challenges the contractors needed to overcome was due to city ordinances that restricted construction hours, which meant concrete had to be poured during hot weather conditions and created non-optimal curing times. Some areas of spalling were detected after the concrete cured, so all the post-tension slabs were tested with a chain drag, and affected areas were corrected by consulting concrete repair experts who worked closely with the contractor, owner and engineers.

The four outdoor courts at the Montgomery TennisPlex in Boyds, Md., complete a larger, new facility that has eight indoor courts. In the 150 days the contractor was given to complete the outdoor courts, there were 45 days of rain. During base construction, approximately 1,000 tons of stone were delivered and placed in four hours. The contractor also had to build three water/bio-filter retention ponds for storm-water management.

Another new project was the two courts at the Oasis Tennis Center at The Oasis Club in Ave Maria, Fla., which was constructed on a large piece of open land in the community. The project included installing channel drains at the low ends of the courts and installing 8-foot-wide concrete sidwalks.

The Olympic Club in San Francisco upgraded its courts, which included two two-court batteries plus a stadium court. The renovation included upgrading the surface on all six hard courts and reconstructing two courts with a slipsheet overlay system. The contractor also built a new black vinyl coated fence and upgraded the old lighting system to a new energy efficient system that tripled the foot-candle readings on the courts.

The Tenth Street Park Tennis Facility in Altoona, Wis., had six courts in need of repair and reconstruction. The contractor completely rebuilt three of the courts to correct many problems, including incorrect slope, planarity and cracking. Other courts needed to be added and locations shifted to achieve a public facility the community can enjoy.

Olympic Club

San Francisco, Calif.

(Nominated by Vintage Contractors Inc., San Francisco, Calif.)

General/Specialty Contractor: Vintage Contractors Inc.

No. of Courts: 8

Surface: Plexipave

Fencing: Fraser-Edwards Co.

Lighting: Har-Tru Sports

Cedarburg School District JV Complex

Cedarburg, Wis.

(Nominated by Fred Kolkmann Tennis & Sport Surfaces LLC, Grafton, Wis.)

Consultant: Fred Kolkmann Tennis & Sport Surfaces LLC

Specialty Contractor: Frank Armstrong Enterprise

No. of Courts: 6

Surface: California Products Plexipave

Base & Paving: Munson Inc.

Nets, Posts: Douglas Sports Nets & Equipment

Tenth Street Park Tennis Facility

Altoona, Wis.

(Nominated by Fred Kolkmann Tennis & Sport Surfaces LLC, Grafton, Wis.)

Consultant: Fred Kolkmann Tennis & Sport Surfaces LLC

No. of Courts: 6

Surface: California Products

Repair Product: Armor Crack Repair

Nets, Posts: Douglas Sports Nets & Equipment

DeBot Tennis Facility–Univ. of Wisconsin-Stevens Point

Stevens Point, Wis.

(Nominated by Rettler Corp., Stevens Point, Wis.)

Architect/Engineer: Rettler Corp. (Rick H. Rettler)

No. of Courts: 8

Holland Public Schools Tennis Complex

Holland, Mich.

(Nominated by GMB Architecture + Engineering, Holland, Mich.)

Architect/Engineer: GMB Architecture + Engineering

No. of Courts: 12

Surface: DecoTurf

Windscreens, Scorecards: Putterman Athletics

Net Posts, Accessories: Edwards/Roldri

Trench Drain: Zurn Industries

Montgomery TennisPlex Outdoor Facility

Boyds, Md.

(Nominated by Bishop’s Tennis Inc., Sterling, Va.)

General Contractor: Bishop’s Tennis Inc.

No. of Courts: 4

Surface: Advanced Polymer Technology/Laykold ColorCoat

Windscreens: Putterman Athletics

Lighting: LSI Sports Lighting Aero System

Nets, Posts, Accessories: Har-Tru Sports

Oasis Tennis Center at The Oasis Club

Ave Maria, Fla.

(Nominated by Welch Tennis Courts Inc., Sun City, Fla.)

Specialty Contractor: Welch Tennis Courts Inc.

No. of Courts: 2

Surface: DecoTurf

Lighting: LSI Courtsider

Nets, Posts, Windscreens: Welch Tennis Courts Inc.

See all articles by Peter Francesconi

About the Author

Peter Francesconi is editorial director of Tennis Industry magazine.

From the May 2014 issue
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