News

QUAKERTOWN, PA — For the fourth time, Baseline Sports Construction has chosen Universal Fabric Structures (UFS), Inc. as the supplier of a fabric structure for a sports facility. The most recent project was for the Centre Court Racquet Club located in Louisville, TN.

Unlike some UFS projects, which cover existing facilities, this project was started from scratch. The earth was moved and shaped to accommodate the building, foundations were poured and tennis courts installed. This presented certain logistical problems, which were overcome to the delight of Baseline.

“We’ve been working with UFS since 1998,” said Nelson Westover, project manager at Baseline for the Centre Court project. “We have tried other buildings and different manufacturers, and this is the product we prefer to sell.”

The building covers four indoor tennis courts, as well as a prefabricated panel building which includes a mezzanine level. Accessories include gable curtain end walls, indirect lighting, radiant heating system, four 40 inch, 11,000 cubic feet per minute exhaust fans, six 60 inch ceiling fans, two sets of double glass doors, backdrop curtains and divider netting between courts.

The structure is a 36 meter (118 feet) × 74 meter (243 feet) TFS building and took less than six weeks to complete. The fabric used on this building was Ferrari 702 white translucent with a gray border. The TFS Series is engineered using the principle of the peaked arch profile and has proven its viability and versatility on projects ranging from tennis facilities to airplane hangars.

A unique feature of this building was the utilization of fabric curtain doors in the gable ends. This approach provides both added light and extra ventilation. While the actual construction was performed by Baseline, they utilized the UFS project management skills of Rob Sedler and the talents of UFS site supervisor Joe Berger to make this project successful.

“At Baseline we have several reasons for using UFS repeatedly,” said Westover. “The quality of the building for the dollars spent is very well worth it, the people at UFS are extremely responsive when helping you, and the sales team is willing to help in any way necessary. Plus, once the materials arrived and it was time for construction, the engineering team ensured things were handled properly and were responsive to our changes and suggestions.”

The Centre Court Racquet Club is located in Louisville, Tennessee, between Knoxville and Alcoa/Maryville. It is a full service tennis club with four lighted outdoor tennis courts and four indoor tennis courts. Amenities include a gazebo located between the two sets of outdoor courts, plus offices, locker rooms, a pro shop, child care area, and additional seating located inside the fabric frame building.

“The building came from Belgium and it’s amazing to me that it arrived on site, on time with everything included and ready to be assembled. That was impressive,” concluded Westover.

This facility has been honored for excellence in tennis court facility construction. The American Sports Builders Association (ASBA) has awarded Centre Court Racquet Club an Outstanding Indoor Tennis Facility Award for 2006.

Innovations in fabric structures have come a long way from tarpaulin structures of yesteryear. Complete mechanical systems and all the creature comforts of a mortar structure can be had in these flexible, durable structures, pre-engineered to not only the job site but to customer specifications.