SAVE OUR COURTS!

07/07/14 UPDATE: The STA is working with the City of Stillwater to come up with a long term plan to address the lack of quality of courts in town. Three locations to site new tennis courts were studied: Southern Woods at 12th Avenue and Washington (just north of the dog park), Boomer Lake (the southeast corner on Lakeview and Husband Street), and Couch Park Hamilton Field potentially integrating the existing Hamilton Field House to form a clubhouse and viewing area.

Information regarding each site, including utilities, soil, and flood plain status was gathered. In addition, existing infrastructure like parking and bathroom facilities was assessed. Plans for 8 courts with the possibility to expand to 12 were designed and integrated into each location and the positives and negatives became evident. Understand that the layouts in the slideshow are preliminary, as there will be refinements of configurations and details to come.

Overall, the city provided some good options. Although most tennis players are happy with courts that are playable without gaping cracks and dead spots, it is important to consider the long-term needs of the entire tennis community and take a look at possibilities.

The following are summaries of the advantages and challenges for each location. Please refer to the attached slideshow below for related graphics.

Advantages to Southern Woods are its existing parking and bathroom facility, the mature trees, and proximity to the Sunset Courts. To fit the desired amount of courts on the site, however, many trees would need to be removed. Some challenges to the site are that it is in a floodplain and water problems would need to be mitigated, and there is another property not owned by the city that cuts into the middle of it making layout options limited and disconnected. Late night lights may also be a problem here for nearby houses. Because of these challenges, this was the first location to be eliminated from the options.

The southeast corner of Boomer Lake also has some advantages, including its central location and high visibility. Boomer Lake is the most highly used park in Stillwater, so tennis would be front and center. The layout option is appealing and could be designed to make connections with existing paths. Lights or blocked views are not an issue, but the challenges here are related to wind and a lack of immediate parking and bathroom facilities. These would need to be built and new landscape planted to reduce wind. This is feasible, but it adds to the cost of the facility.

Several layout options can work at the third location, Couch Park using the former Hamilton football field. The City is interested in re-purpose / re-use of the Hamilton Fieldhouse as well. Although the building needs work and adaptation, there is potential, with many court layout options that can be integrated with the building. In addition, this facility could spark a revival of Couch Park including a new, more attractive entry to the park. For these reasons, Couch Park is a favored location.

Slideshow PDF file attached below or on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/StillwaterTennisAssociation

03/23/13 POST:

Stillwater tennis courts today. Not a pretty picture.

The time has come for Stillwater residents to send a message to the City that these conditions are unacceptable.

More details on the tennis community's campaign for new courts can be found at

http://stillwatertennis.wordpress.com

Please help us upgrade Stillwater's tennis facilities and improve the quality of life by signing our Save Our Courts petition at

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/728/377/111/save-stillwater-tennis-courts/