August 29, 2019 – USTA Outstanding Facility Awards Lunch at the Grand Hyatt in New York, NY.
The USTA announced that the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College in Rome,GA, is one of 25 winners in the 38th annual USTA Facility Awards program, which recognizes excellence in the construction and/or renovation of tennis facilities throughout the country. The Rome Tennis Center at Berry College was honored at the USTA Semi-Annual Meeting at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York City on Aug. 29.
The Rome Tennis Center at Berry College has the impressive title of the largest hard court tennis facility in the nation, featuring 60 hard courts situated on 30 contiguous acres of land. The site includes a unique terraced design that exceeds ADA accessibility, with no steps, and has wider entry ways to accommodate sport chairs for wheelchair tennis.
“Great tennis facilities like the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College help us to grow the game at the grass-roots level, and we are proud to recognize them for their ongoing impact on the sport of tennis,” said Kurt Kamperman, Chief Executive, USTA National Campus. “The Rome Tennis Center at Berry College has embraced many of our tennis initiatives and kept the sport at the forefront of its community each year.”
To be considered for an award, facilities must be under the jurisdiction of a park and recreation department, an educational institution, a nonprofit corporation or be a private or commercially owned and operated facility that offers both USTA and public programming designed to help grow tennis.
Facilities were judged on 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 the facilities’ participation in USTA programs.
Nominated facilities were voted on in the following categories: Public Courts that are either small tennis centers with 2-10 courts or large tennis centers with 11 or more courts; Private Facilities that support the USTA and other “growth of the game” programs open to the public; and Educational Institutions such as colleges, universities, public and private grade schools, middle schools, or high schools.
All 2019 award winners will receive a wall plaque and an all-weather sign, which can be mounted at the facility. In addition, each awardee will receive a one night stay at the Grand Hyatt New York and two US Open Grounds passes.
The 2019 USTA Facility Awards Program winners are:
Public Courts: Small Tennis Centers (2 to 10 courts)
Wall Park Tennis Complex: McPherson, Kan.
Delcastle Tennis Center: Delcastle, Del.
Tuscarora Tennis Club: Frederick, Md.
John and Fay Menard YMCA Tennis Center: Eau Claire, Wis.
Courts Plus: Elmhurst, Ill.
Soldier Spring Park: Weatherford, Texas
La Academia- Sport for all: Caguas, Puerto Rico
Eastern Athletic Club- Blue Point: Blue Point, N.Y.
Public Courts: Large Tennis Centers (11 or more courts)
Rome Tennis Center at Berry College: Rome, Ga.
Kiwanis Tennis Center: Tempe, Ariz.
TBarM Racquet Club: Dallas, Texas
City Park/Pepsi Tennis Center: New Orleans, La.
Cary Tennis Park: Cary, North Carolina (Featured Facility)
Lindner Tennis Center at Lunken: Cincinnati, Ohio
Cary Leeds Center for Tennis & Learning: Bronx, N.Y.
Scottsdale Ranch Park and Tennis Center: Scottsdale, Ariz.
Apex Tennis Center: Arvada, Col.
Private Facilities
Ames Fitness Center: Ames, Iowa
Racquet and Health 91: Tulsa, Okla.
Mauna Lani Resort: Kohala Coast, Hawaii
Magic Lincer Tennis Club of Manchester: Manchester, Conn.
Glen Arven Country Club: Thomasville, Ga.
Evergreen Racquet Club: Bloomington, Ill.
Educational Institutions
Greater Atlanta Christian Schools: Norcross, Ga.
SMU Tennis Complex: Dallas, Texas
The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level — from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. A not-for-profit organization with more than 655,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, one of the highest-attended annual sporting events in the world, and launched the US Open Series, linking seven summer WTA and ATP World Tour tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns approximately 90 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S. and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA’s philanthropic entity, the USTA Foundation, provides grants and scholarships in addition to supporting tennis and education programs nationwide to benefit under-resourced youth through the National Junior Tennis & Learning (NJTL) network. For more information about the USTA, go to USTA.com or follow the official accounts on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat.
About the Author
Our Georgia's Rome tourism team works hard to curate content to help you discover and explore our beautiful town! We want to ensure our content is up-to-date and accurate; so please let us know if we ever overlook an important detail! This post was originally written by Kristi Kent and is updated by staff.
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