Rising to the surface: aging tennis courts have options for rejuvenation.

It was the late 1970s and early 1980s when names like King, McEnroe, Evert, Connors and Navratilova brought fans to the game of tennis. It became the popular and riveting sport to watch. New courts sprouted up, people played the game in throngs and the sport took off.

Tennis is on a roll once again, experiencing another boom in popularity. Nearly 25 million Americans are playing, and the majority doing so at their local public park and recreation centers. But some of those public tennis courts that sprung up during the sports' popularity 30 years ago have passed their prime and reconstruction has become quite commonplace. Moreover, communities that have done without tennis facilities altogether see that public demand is there and they need to answer the call. The good news is that there are funding opportunities, innovative design trends and maintenance methods to help pave the way.

In Jackson Hole, Wyo., a town of 30,000, the opportunities for tennis play were few and far between unless you could afford to join the high priced private clubs. Enter Steve Ashworth, park planner and landscape architect for Teton County/Jackson Recreation. "We wanted to create an event center, not just a bank of courts," Ashworth says. "We felt a full-service tennis complex with tournaments, lessons and programming would serve the community well."

Jackson Hole Community Tennis Center opened in November 2005. Five tennis courts were built at the local high school on land donated by the school district and funded by a voter approved sales tax--$126,000--was granted through the Public Facility Funding program, a vital component of the Tennis in the Parks initiative, which is a joint effort of the United States Tennis Association (USTA) and NRPA.

Ashworth and his team wanted to spend their money wisely. During a six-month period, they researched court surfaces in similar environmental conditions. Thanks to the additional funding, they were able to implement state-of-the-art technology, rendering the courts practically maintenance free.

The group decided to use post tension concrete courts, which use a technology found in bridges and parking garages. The method uses a slab of concrete held in tension by a cable system. Ashworth says these "floating courts" may take a bigger bite out of the wallet initially, but in the end maintenance and renovation costs due to shrinking, freezing and thawing are eliminated. Traditional asphalt can crack easily from extreme conditions of cold winters and dry summers.

While post tension slabs are among the most dependable, longest-lasting bases for hard courts, as well as a great investment, some municipalities may budget less money for construction and must examine other options. The best tennis courts are a combination of well-designed and well-maintained courts that serve the needs of the area and the particular population, according to Alex Levitsky, of Global Sports & Tennis Design Group, LLC, a design group based in Fair Haven, N.J.

Choosing a surface is dependent upon various factors including geography and skill levels of the players. The majority of courts in the United States are hard court surfaces of concrete and asphalt overlaid with a color coating usually composed of textured latex, rubber or other synthetic materials. "Outdoor hard courts are sometimes more practical in cold climates where the freeze/thaw cycle starts early and ends late," Levitsky explains. "Hard courts are usually favored for training programs and clinics where the court use is more intensive. Subsurface irrigated ... courts are usually cooler on the feet due to the presence of the water, so they may be better received in hot places. They are perceived as being softer and usually a bit slower, so they are often favored by older players."

Regular maintenance is a terrific investment with tremendous payback. Maintaining good drainage is key, says Levitsky. "Water plays a primary or secondary role in 90 percent of premature failures of outdoor hard tennis courts. Keep the water away, and your courts will last a lot longer." He adds, "A good overlay floats over the old surface, reducing the chance of cracks migrating up and through the new surface."

Once cracks appear, however, they cannot he removed, according to Gerry Wright, chairman of the American Sports Builders Association (ASBA). Conventional patching of cracks is a temporary fix, although some proprietary fabric systems will delay their return. If the cracks are minor in nature, a fiberglass repair, application of a good roll system (i.e. synthetic turf, rubber mat) or asphalt overlay may be effective.

The layout, design and amenities of a tennis court area are just as important as the surface choice. In fact, the user-friendly quotient has become key in the development and design of public tennis courts today, according to Virgil Christian, Jr., director, Community Tennis Development for the USTA. Parks will attract the public in greater numbers if the approach is that of a community center.

"It is very rare for building plans to cross my desk that are 10 courts in a row with one maple tree at the entrance," says Christian. "More likely I am reviewing designs that have imagination--community areas, green space and shade. I have said for years I would like to see our designers and developers approach tennis park design as a golf course developer approaches a plot of land. We need to use the natural slope at times, get creative with shade areas, and generally give the park a nice place to take a walk, and it just so happens there are 200 players having fun and burning calories with you."

ASBA's Wright agrees, adding that incorporating features such as lights, shade, seating, water fountains, convenient restrooms and parking is a growing trend.

According to Ashworth, the additional funding helped create a high quality facility that is user-friendly with beautiful landscaping, covered shelters, spectator spaces and storage areas. "We not only opened up opportunities for the general public with our new tennis programs," he says, "but we have found that the people from the exclusive clubs are now using our courts as well, and telling us that they are of better quality than the local clubs' courts."

Many facilities have also begun to use new surface color combinations to add interest, such as the US Open Blue and light green. As a complement to the USTA Tennis in the Parks initiative, the USTA launched the US Open Series Legacy Program. Its purpose is to give back to local communities which host US Open Series events by refurbishing their public tennis courts, transforming them into US Open Blue, to appear like the courts at the US Open.

Griffith Park in Los Angeles was recently a beneficiary of the Legacy Program. With more than 4,000 acres, the public park offers numerous family attractions, an assortment of educational and cultural institutions, and miles of hiking and horseback riding trails, and provides visitors an ideal environment for enjoyable recreation activities. However, its four public tennis courts were in poor condition, and in dire need of repair.

"Players are thrilled to have the first blue courts in Los Angeles City parks, says Vicki Israel, superintendent of the Griffith Region for the City of Los Angeles' Department of Recreation and Parks. "This gave us such a great opportunity and the traffic has increased immensely since we now have that striking blue color and courts with clean, new lines."

Jon Kirk Mukri, general manager, Department of Recreation and Parks for the City of Los Angeles, adds that "there is a sense of pride and connection to these courts from the residents since they've been refurbished." The new court colors have been tested and proven to enhance visibility of the ball for both players and fans, and offer a visual link to the US Open Series tournaments.

As increased funding and cost effective technologies continue to emerge and more and more public tennis courts continue to surface, one thing is clear: the next King, McEnroe, Evert, Connors or Navratilova is right around the corner.

For more information on the USTA and NRPA initiative Tennis in the Parks, visit www.nrpa.org/usta.

Web extra: Want a quick fix? Take a look at common tennis court repair methods.

www.nrpa.org/p&r

Common Tennis Court Problems

PROBLEM         DESCRIPTION OF APPEARANCE

Fading          Surface color is faded, washed out,
                or slightly chalky looking.

Discoloration   Dark green, brownish or black
                dusty, sticky or slimy areas on
                courts, especially in areas puddling,
                frequent shadowing by trees or
                buildings

Birdbaths       Randomly located elliptical, or
                elongated depressions 1/4" or less
                which tend to puddle and hold water
                after the rest of the court has dried

Bubbles         Soft humps or blisters in court
                surface varying in size from 1/4: to
                several feet in diameter, isolated
                hollow sounding areas below court
                surface.

Rust Spots      Orangy-brown, rust colored stains or
                streaking in random patterns over
                court surface.

Hairline        Fine hairline cracks of variable
Cracks          lengths often occurring over entire
                court surface. Usually of shallow
                depth in the court surface of
                uppermost layer of pavement

Raveling        Pock-marked pavement, spauling,
                or crumbling of surface and
                pavement.

Alligatoring    Alligator skin-like pattern of
                interconnected cracks usually in
                court surfacing and varying in depth.
                Often accompanied by loose
                particles of surface material.

Structural      Cracks which penetrate into the
Cracks          pavement often occurring in long
                straight lines or irregular patterns
                emanating from a clear point in the
                pavement, such as net or fence
                posts,

Upheaval        Isolated vertical displacement of
or              court pavement more than 1/4:"
Depression      above or below the surface.

PROBLEM         POSSIBLE CAUSES

Fading          Oxidation of surface due to sun exposure,
                excessive wear without resurfacing, defective
                surface material (usually very rye.)

Discoloration   Mold mildew, algae fungus or other
                vegetative growth due to excessive shading,
                poor drainage, or poor maintenance.

Birdbaths       Poor slope of the court pavement improper
                paving of the court, settling or upheaval of the
                court, pavement, base or subsurface

Bubbles         Excessive moisture below court pavement,
                standing water over court surface, poor
                surface or subsurface drainage outside court
                areas, build-up of excessive acrylic surfacing
                layers

Rust Spots      Poor maintenance of court surface,
                contamination of court surface material during
                installation, presence of pyrites or iron
                deposits in court pavement mix

Hairline        Contamination of court surfacing during
Cracks          installation, use of incompatible surface
                materials or solvent-type coatings, improper
                pavement seal coating, or improper
                pavement mix design

Raveling        Oxidation of surface and pavement due to
                prolonged wear and exposure to sun

Alligatoring    Contamination of court surfacing during
                installation, use of incompatible surface
                materials of solvent-type coatings, improper
                pavement seal coating, or improper
                pavement mix design

Structural      Improperly constructed pavement joints
Cracks          thermal shock, shrinkage of pavement due to
                oxidation, heaving of base or subbase, tree
                roots, improperly designed or constructed
                post footings.

Upheaval        Frost heaves, swelling of base or subsurface
or              soils due to improper drainage, tree roots, or
Depression      decomposition of organic matter in subgrade
                or court, poor compaction of base or
                subbase.

PROBLEM         POTENTIAL REMEDIES

Fading          Acrylic resurfacing

Discoloration   Washing with a mild detergent, correction of
                court drainage, acrylic resurfacing,
                elimination or pruning of nearby vegetation,
                correction of surface drainage outside of
                court areas.

Birdbaths       Leveling, patching, or regarding of
                pavement, patch or remove bubbled areas,
                acrylic surfacing.

Bubbles         Correction of drainage problems outside of
                court areas, leveling or regrading of
                pavement, patch or remove bubbled areas,
                acrylic surfacing.

Rust Spots      Overlayment of court surfacing or repaving
                of court, and new acrylic surfacing, in minor
                cases removal of spots, patching and
                resurfacing

Hairline        Surface or pavement overlay treatments,
Cracks          and new acrylic surfacing.
                These cracks have the potential to develop
                into structural cracks over longer periods of
                time

Raveling        Surface of pavement overlay treatments,
                and new acrylic surfacing. For more severe
                cases, reconstruction of court pavement and
                new acrylic surfacing.

Alligatoring    Surface or pavement overlay treatments,
                and new acrylic surfacing. These cracks
                have the potential to develop into structural
                cracks over longer periods of time and
                exposure

Structural      Surface or pavement overlay treatments, or
Cracks          reconstruction of court pavement and new
                acrylic surfacing, complete reconstruction of
                court for more severe cases.

Upheaval        Usually complete reconstruction of the court
or              pavement or in more severe cases,
Depression      reconstruction or relocation of the entire
                court.

Prepared by Alex Levitsky, based on "rehab: Asphalt Tennis
Courts--Brief Overview of Methods and Costs," by Sheldon Westervelt
and Andrew Lavallee in Tennis Industry.