Alabama Tennis Stadium Receives USTA Facility Award
10/5/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Tennis
TUSCALOOSA ?? The United States Tennis Association announced the University of Alabama Tennis Stadium as one of nine winners of its 25th annual USTA Facility Awards Program, recognizing excellence in the construction and/or renovation of public tennis facilities throughout the country.
The names of the nine facilities will be inscribed on a large wall plaque displayed in the lobby of the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y., home of the U.S. Open. Each facility will also receive a one-year complimentary USTA membership, a certificate of recognition and a wooden wall plaque and a large lexan sign to display at their facility.
The tennis complex at the University of Alabama features 12 outdoor hard courts with permanent seating for 2,000. The facility is composed of a team lounge with plasma TV, a conference room, coaches’ offices, player locker rooms with private restrooms and showers, a full-service athletic training room, and a concession stand with a kitchen. Wireless internet access is available, and the facility is equipped with a sound system and electronic scoreboard. The $4.2 million facility was built in 2004 and is the home of the Crimson Tide’s nationally ranked men’s and women’s tennis teams.
Nominated facilities were voted upon in the following categories: Public Courts that are either small tennis centers with two to 10 courts or large tennis centers with 11 or more courts; Collegiate Tennis Centers; and Private Facilities that support the USTA and other Growth of the Game programs open to the public.
Facilities under consideration must be under the jurisdiction of a parks and recreation department, an educational institution, a non-profit corporation, or private and commercially owned and operated facilities that offer USTA and other Growth of the Game programs to the public. Facilities were judged upon the following criteria: overall layout and adaptation to site; excellence of court surface and lights; ease of maintenance; accommodations for players, spectators and press/officials; aesthetics; graphics, including the use of signs and landscaping; amenities such as casual seating for spectators, food services and social areas; and their involvement in programs supporting the USTA and the growth of tennis.
The 2006 facility Awards Program winners are:
Collegiate Tennis Centers
University of Alabama Varsity Tennis Center ?? Tuscaloosa, Alabama
University of Hawaii at Manoa Tennis Complex ?? Honolulu, Hawaii
Public Courts: Large Tennis Centers (11 or more courts)
Cary Tennis Park ?? Cary, North Carolina
Lost Mountain Tennis Center ?? Powder Springs, Georgia
Waco Regional Tennis & Fitness ?? Waco, Texas
Buchanan Educational Center Tennis Courts ?? Clovis, California
Forestmeadows Park & Athletic Center ?? Tallahassee, Florida
Public Courts: Small Tennis Centers (2-10 courts)
Ken-Caryl Ranch Master Association ?? Littleton, Colorado
Private Facilities that support USTA and other Growth of the Game programs
Windward Lake Club ?? Alpharetta, Georgia
