Linden Hills Effort to Restore Tennis Courts in Full Swing

The ball is rolling on a community effort to replace the tennis courts at Linden Hills Park.

So far, a little over $1,100 in official donations to the “Love at Linden Hills” Tennis Courts Project has been raised toward a $200,000 goal, not including the tally from a fundraiser last Saturday and potential grants awaiting approval.

The public tennis courts, located at 42nd Street and Zenith Avenue, were last resurfaced about five years ago according to Denise Griep who is co-chairing the project’s fundraising efforts. She said there are several reasons why the courts are important to Linden Hills.

“There are over a hundred kids that take a five-week summer tennis course through Inner City Tennis that might never get to play without access to public courts,” Griep said. “Southwest High School used the courts as their home courts until they were unplayable, and senior citizens who can’t afford club memberships use the courts as well."

A typical tennis court resurfacing lasts about five years, but Griep said resurfacing the courts at Linden Hills Park is no longer an option.

“There’s been too much shifting of the soil underneath," Griep said. "They have to be torn out and completely rebuilt,” Griep said. “The courts and all the surrounding land is on top of a peat bog, therefore most of the cost will go toward preparing the new foundation so it lasts."

The new plan calls for four new courts to be built in a fenced-in area in the present courts' location. The project also includes rebuilding the adjoining basketball courts, with total price tag estimated between $160,000 and $200,000.

Sara Chechik is also a co-chair on the project. She said right now she’s working to make sure the community is informed about why the project is important and how her organization is working with the Minneapolis Park Board to complete the work.

“We still have a lot of community awareness to build,” Chechik said. Sometimes people want to know why we’re raising money instead of using Park Board funds for the improvements. The Board looked at the budgets and it was going to be at least 5 years before they could consider it, so we decided to form a non-profit and raise the money ourselves. Other communities have re-built their park tennis courts using private money, including Pershing, Kenwood and Webber, Chechik said.

Chechik said overall the community has been supportive of the rebuilding project, and she hopes those who want to know more or have questions will come and see the current condition of the courts once the snow melts.

“Honestly, the condition of these courts could be described as blighted. This is blight in Linden Hills,” Chechik said. "These are some of the most-used tennis courts in the area, yet they’re in the worst condition.”

Building new, durable tennis courts that can withstand Minnesota’s temperature extremes involves more than just laying down cement. It’s a process that involves soil analysis, deep-layered construction and a drainage system.

Patrick Sarver is a landscape architect and member of the Linden Hills Neighborhood Council board who is donating his time to design the new courts and help raise funds. He said he has used the courts for many years and is happy to lend his know-how to the project. He said although the Park Board has taken steps to maintain and restore the courts over the years, the failing foundation makes those efforts futile in the long run.

“You have to implement a design that protects from frost on sub-soils. That’s the most important thing. So you design free-draining sub-soils with a granular base that’s about four feet deep, then you add drain tiling underneath that,” Sarver said. “The drain tiling system gives moisture a place to go, so in the winter there’s no moisture there to freeze. That creates a stable pavement surface.”

Sarver said that because the tennis courts are on park property, all design and construction will be done with close oversight by the Linden Hills Park staff and the Minneapolis Park Board.

Sarver also said one unique aspect of the new design is a “Quick Start” tennis system, an integrated smaller court system that makes learning tennis easier for young children.

“It’s a program for kids 10 and under that essentially varies the size of the balls and courts so that they are age-appropriate. It’s easier and more fun for the participants,” Sarver said. “The courts can be used for regular tennis of course, but the Quick Start lines are painted on the courts in subtle colors, so each side of the regular court is used crossways, creating four courts on each full-size court.”

Sarver added: “The new basketball courts will have Quick Start lines too, so on a given day you could keep 80 kids busy on these courts."

The “Love at Linden Hills” Tennis Courts Project hopes to have all funds raised by June 30th of this year. If that happens, construction would begin in the fall and the courts would be completed and ready for use by summer 2012.

The project's website is at www.lindenhillstenniscourts.org. The organization has a Facebook Page and financial contributions can be made through www.razoo.com.