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A Soft Market

These outdoor soft-court winners hit some common themes.

By Peter Francesconi

A few things quickly become apparent when looking at the eight outdoor soft-court winners of the Racquet Sports Industry/American Sports Builders Association 2004 Facility-of-the-Year Awards.

First, all of these winners made use soft-court material from Lee Tennis. Second, all of them installed subsurface irrigation systems. Third, they all made use of laser-grading, so if you haven’t made that investment yet, you really ought to look at it.

And fourth, two Florida-based court-building companies cornered the market on the soft-court awards this year: Fast Dry Courts of Pompano Beach had three winners, and Welch Tennis Courts of Sun City had five winners.

These soft-court winners included five new projects (Four Seasons Resort-Bahamas, Chautauqua Tennis Center, North Shore Park Tennis Center, VillageWalk, and The Stirling Club) and three that were upgrades of existing construction (Woodfield C.C., Johns Island, and River Forest Tennis Club). Number of courts ranged from six to the 12 at North Shore Park.

Subsurface irrigation, while it may be a bit more expensive to install initially, saves money in the long run, since water doesn’t evaporate from the surface as in standard watering, and the courts don’t have to be taken out of service while they’re watered. In two instances (Woodfield C.C. and Four Seasons), Fast Dry Courts Inc. also installed additional above-ground sprinkler systems.

While all these facilities have a number of common threads, each project came together to form its own unique, winning pattern.

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Chautauqua Tennis Center

Chautauqua, N.Y.
(Nominated by Welch Tennis Courts Inc., Sun City, Fla.)
Number of Courts: 8
Specialty Contractor: Welch Tennis Courts Inc.
Surface: Har-Tru (Lee Tennis)
Subsurface Irrigation: HydroGrid (Welch Tennis)
Windscreens: J.A. Cissel
Lighting: LSI Courtsider Sport

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Johns Island

Vero Beach, Fla.
(Nominated by Fast Dry Courts, Pompano Beach, Fla.)
Number of Courts: 10
Architect/Engineer: Fast Dry Courts
General & Specialty Contractor: Fast Dry Courts
Surface: Lee HydroBlend
Underground Irrigation, Line Tapes: Lee Tennis
Windscreens, Net Posts: BP International
Trench Drain: Zurn Industries

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North Shore Park Tennis Center

Miami Beach, Fla.
(Nominated by Welch Tennis Courts Inc., Sun City, Fla.)
Number of Courts: 12 (10 Har-Tru, 2 DecoTurf)
Specialty Contractor: Welch Tennis Courts Inc.; Agile Courts Construction Co.
Surface: Har-Tru (Lee Tennis), DecoTurf
Subsurface Irrigation: HydroGrid (Welch Tennis)

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River Forest Tennis Club

River Forest, Ill.
(Nominated by Welch Tennis Courts Inc., Sun City, Fla.)
Number of Courts: 10
General Contractor: Welch Tennis Courts Inc.
Surface: Har-Tru (Lee Tennis)
Subsurface Irrigation: Hydrogrid (Welch Tennis)
Windscreens: J.A. Cissel

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Four Seasons Resort

Emerald Bay, Great Exuma, Bahamas
(Nominated by Fast Dry Courts, Pompano Beach, Fla.)
Number of Courts: 6
Architect/Engineer: Wilson/Miller Inc. and Fast Dry Courts Inc.
General Contractor: FoxCor
Specialty Contractor: Fast Dry Courts
Surface: Lee HydroBlend
Underground Irrigation, Line Tapes: Lee Tennis
Windscreens, Nets, Net Posts, Wall/Pole Pads: BP International
Trench Drain: Zurn Industries
Lighting: RLS TE 2000

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The Stirling Club

Las Vegas, Nev.
(Nominated by Welch Tennis Courts Inc., Sun City, Fla.)
Number of Courts: 6
Specialty Contractor: Welch Tennis Courts Inc.
Surface: Har-Tru (Lee Tennis)
Subsurface Irrigation: HydroGrid (Welch Tennis)
Durascreen: Ball Products

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VillageWalk of Sarasota

Sarasota, Fla.
(Nominated by Welch Tennis Courts Inc., Sun City, Fla.)
Number of Courts: 6
General Contractor: Welch Tennis Courts Inc.
Surface: Har-Tru (Lee Tennis)
Subsurface Irrigation: HydroGrid (Welch Tennis)
Windscreens: J.A. Cissel
Lighting: LSI Courtsider XL

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Woodfield Country Club

Boca Raton, Fla.
(Nominated by Fast Dry Courts, Pompano Beach, Fla.)
Number of Courts: 7
Architect/Engineer: Global Sports & Tennis Desing Group
General Contractor: Weitz Golf
Specialty Contractor: Fast Dry Courts
Surface: Lee HydroBlend
Underground Irrigation, Line Tapes, Net Posts: Lee Tennis
Windscreens, Nets: BP International
Trench Drain: Zurn Industries
Lighting: RLS TE 2000

See all articles by Peter Francesconi

About the Author

Peter Francesconi is editorial director of RSI magazine.

From the March 2005 issue
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