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Distinguished Facility-of-the-Year Awards: Private Practice

These residential winners are excellent examples of tennis-court construction.

By Peter Francesconi

The six residential winners of the Tennis Industry/American Sports Builders Association distinguished Facility-of-the-Year Awards for 2013 are all new construction, and two of them are unique in that they involved building two-court facilities. One involves a residence with two clay courts, for training pro and aspiring players, and the other is a residence that now has a clay court and a hard court, for training a top junior. So, five of the eight courts in these six projects are clay.

In Boca Raton, Fla., the customer wanted to accommodate his children’s sporting desires, including his daughter, who is a nationally ranked junior player. Since much of the girl’s time was spent traveling and playing tournaments on different surfaces, the owner decided to maximize her court time and build new hard and clay courts at home. The all-weather cushioned hard court and the sub-irrigated clay court at their residence are tournament quality, as is the court lighting. The fencing system allows for easy preparation and retraction of the windscreens in case of strong winds. The customer also included a video system with an all-weather courtside monitor to analyze play on the courts, and which doubles as a security surveillance system.

After much discussion with the town, the Harrison Residence in Hobart, Wis., got a new hard court, but due to setback requirements, the overall court dimensions had to be reduced slightly from the standard 120 by 60 feet to fit against two existing property lines. Elevation difference between the court surface and the owner’s access point at driveway level, which was several feet higher, also posed challenges, including facility and site drainage issues. The result, though, meets all codes and blends well into the surrounding area. To top it off, a personalized “logo” was added.

The site for the Har-Tru court at the Keith Residence in Cookeville, Tenn., was a former horse pen, but the owner sold the horses and decided to build a tennis court, which has “live,” or angled, corners. Consequently, there already was a firmly compacted crush screenings base prior to construction, which was close to being on grade. Space was tight in the 120-foot direction due to an access road on one side and a hill on the other side. Rip-rap backfill was used to shore up the slopes.

The project at Southwest Ranches, Fla., involved building a battery of two new Har-Tru courts, both with conventional sprinkler irrigation. The owner is a tennis pro and uses the courts to train and condition professional and prospective tour players, including his own daughter. A courtside entertaining area was built around a large tree, which includes an elevated viewing platform. A custom fence system allows for the retraction of the fence/screens to open the court up for parties and also allows for easier preparation for hurricanes.

The new HydroGrid sub-surface irrigated court at Villa Terese in Bradenton, Fla., also included installing lighting, fencing and 6-foot green windscreen, on a beautiful piece of property with great access for construction. Angled corners soften the look. The subbase material is of existing soils, and for drainage around the exterior, a 24-inch poly drain moves water to a large catch basin.

The new post-tensioned concrete court at the Welch Residence in Scottsdale, Ariz., which also includes high-end basketball goals, had only one possible location in the suburban setting. Unfortunately, access to the area was extremely limited due to concrete block walls that divided several properties, essentially creating a narrow corridor with several tight turns that required precise manipulation of large equipment with experienced drivers and operators. But this design-build project turned out great.

Harrison Residence

Hobart, Wis.

(Nominated by Munson Inc., Glendale, Wis.)

General Contractor: Munson Inc.

Consultant: Fred Kolkmann Tennis & Sports Surfaces

Lighting: Har-Tru Sports

Backboard: Bakko

Windscreen, Net, Posts: J.A. Cissel

Boca Raton Residence

Boca Raton, Fla.

(Nominated by Fast-Dry Courts Inc., Pompano Beach, Fla.)

Architect/Engineer/Contractor: Fast-Dry Courts Inc.

Surface: Har-Tru Sports, DecoTurf

Lighting: Techlight

Court Accessories: Fast-Dry Courts/10-S Tennis Supply

Keith Residence

Cookeville, Tenn.

(Nominated by Baseline Sports Construction LLC, Knoxville, Tenn.)

General Contractor: Baseline Sports Construction LLC

Surface, Lines: Har-Tru Sports

Lights: LSI Industries

Windscreen: Putterman Athletics

Net Posts: Edwards/Athletic Connection

Southwest Ranches Residence

Southwest Ranches, Fla.

(Nominated by Fast-Dry Courts Inc., Pompano Beach, Fla.)

Architect/Engineer/General Contractor: Fast-Dry Courts Inc.

Surface: Har-Tru Sports

Lighting: Techlight

Court Equipment: Fast-Dry Courts/10-S Tennis Supply

Villa Terese

Bradenton, Fla.

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

General/Specialty Contractor: Welch Tennis Courts Inc.

Surface: Har-Tru Sports

Sub-Surface Irrigation: Welch HydroGrid System

Nets, Posts, Windscreen: Welch Tennis Courts

Welch Residence

Scottsdale, Ariz.

(Nominated by General Acrylics Inc., Phoenix, Ariz.)

General Contractor: General Acrylics Inc.

Lighting: LSI Industries

Nets, Posts: Douglas Industries

For details on the 2014 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 2014 issue
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