The deal is sealed that will keep the Vancouver Tennis and Racquetball Center open for a fifth decade.
Now manager Brent Waddle and supporters of the 40-year-old facility can work on rejuvenating the cracking surface of the four outdoor courts.
Built in 1975 in a collaboration between Vancouver Public Schools and the city of Vancouver. An initial 35-year lease agreement between the school district and the city expired in 2010. A new extension through April of 2025 was recently finalized.
Facilities: Nine indoor courts, four outdoor courts and two handball courts. It is the second largest tennis facility in the Vancouver-Portland metro area.
Built in 1975 in a collaboration between Vancouver Public Schools and the city of Vancouver. An initial 35-year lease agreement between the school district and the city expired in 2010. A new extension through April of 2025 was recently finalized.
Facilities: Nine indoor courts, four outdoor courts and two handball courts. It is the second largest tennis facility in the Vancouver-Portland metro area.
The Vancouver Tennis Center Foundation: Formed in 2002 by John Garafalo, the community-member support organization raises money for facility improvements and for those needing financial assistance for tennis lessons. Among recent improvement projects the foundation has spearheaded was a railing system for the upstairs viewing area to replace an old, unsafe railing. The foundation last year donated money and manpower to improve the lounge area.
The Vancouver Tennis Center Foundation: Formed in 2002 by John Garafalo, the community-member support organization raises money for facility improvements and for those needing financial assistance for tennis lessons. Among recent improvement projects the foundation has spearheaded was a railing system for the upstairs viewing area to replace an old, unsafe railing. The foundation last year donated money and manpower to improve the lounge area.
The facility at 5300 E. 18th St. is on Vancouver Public Schools property adjacent to Fort Vancouver High School. It is operated by the city of Vancouver parks department, which recently finalized a 10-year extension to the lease with the school district.
The new lease means Waddle can pursue grant money to help with the cost of rehabilitating the outdoor courts, which were last resurfaced more than a decade ago.
Instead of repairing the courts with a traditional hardcourt surface, Waddle plans to have the outdoor courts covered with a synthetic turf product that will use sand in-fill to produce a surface that plays like a hardcourt. Waddle hopes to have the project completed in time for the fall high school tennis season.
“We will be the Wimbledon of Vancouver,” quipped Michele Rudi, co-president of the the Vancouver Tennis Center Foundation. Rudi is planning two fund-raising events in support of the project.
The ProCourtXP system is manufactured by a Tennessee company and will be unique to the Vancouver-Portland area, Waddle said.
Uniqueness aside, Waddle said the $107,000 price tag for the synthetic grass courts is less than half the $230,000 or more it would cost to properly reconstruct the outdoor courts from their asphalt base.
“Cost is a huge factor” in choosing the synthetic grass product called ProCourtXP, Waddle said.
Waddle has not played on a Pro CourtXP surface. But his boss, Vancouver Parks Recreation Program Manager Dave Perlick, has played on the surface and believes it will be a hit in Vancouver.
“The ball bounce and the traction are very similar to a hard court,” said Perlick, who has played on the grass and sand system courts during visits to relatives in Arizona.
“Your bad shots are still bad shots,” Perlick added with a laugh.
Kevin Young, who was manager of VTC between 1995 and 2007, knows how desperately the outdoor courts need to be repaired. No significant work has been done since the early 2000s, and Young recalled that cracks then began to reappear about a year after the courts were refurbished.
Still, Young (who said he has played on synthetic grass courts in Australia) is skeptical that local tennis players will embrace the synthetic grass surface. Because hard courts are the standard in the Northwest, Young said he believes that synthetic grass courts will be used less often.
Waddle, though, said the imitation grass is more than a cheap fix or a gimmick.
“The great thing about this turf system is not only is it a lower cost option, but it can expand usage of outdoor courts at both ends of the year,” Waddle said.
Because the sand-based court drains quickly, it can be used soon after it stops raining which means outdoor tennis can be played earlier in the spring and later in the fall.
In an ideal world, Waddle said VTC would turn its outdoor courts into indoor courts.
“Almost all people in this area prefer to play indoors over outdoors,” Waddle said. “This will give people a reason to play outdoors.”
Outdoor court rejuvenation project
The plan: Convert the four outdoor courts to a synthetic grass and sand system called ProCourtXP.
The cost: Estimated at about $107,000, with one third of funding from the city of Vancouver, one-third from a grant (perhaps from the U.S. Tennis Association) and one-third from the VTC Foundation.
The timetable: Manager Brent Waddle hopes to have the project done in August so that the courts are ready for the fall high school tennis season.
Fundraising events
The foundation has pledged to contribute one-third of the cost of a new synthetic grass and sand system to cover the damaged outdoor courts. Two fund-raising events are scheduled:
• Clinic and barbecue, this Saturday. Clinic for players 18 and older 2:15 to 5 p.m. at VTC. Barbecue social follows the clinic. Cost is $100 for the clinic and barbecue, $75 for the barbecue only. Sign up at VTC or call 360-487-8123.
• June 13 catered event with live music at the home of Dick Hannah. Hannah helped lead the effort to get VTC built in 1975. Cost is $75. Reservations 360-487-8123.
