UW’s eight tennis courts have been in use for the last decade, bringing about wear and tear that community members are looking to address.
The Laramie City Council was presented with Resolution 2015-18 to designate recreation project request priorities for fiscal year 2016 on Tuesday night. Bryan Shuster, Ward Three representative, proposed an amendment to the motion to remove items 11 and 14 from the grant request list and moving the resurfacing of UW tennis courts up to number 14. The amendment passed with a five to four vote.
UW tennis coach Dean Clower said that the courts need $150,000 in order to be resurfaced. The courts are simply not safe to play on anymore, the coach said.
“I’ve been here for the last seven years, and no repairs have happened in these seven years,” Clower said.
These courts are important, Clower said, because there are many avid tennis players in Laramie. There are about 700 people who use the courts recreationally and they are also used in hosting tournaments.
Clower said the condition of the courts renders them unsafe for public use. Marian Showacre, a Laramie citizen and tennis enthusiast, told the council about the role tennis played in her upbringing and encouraged the council to find a funding source for the court resurfacing. As a shy nine-year-old living in a small house with 11 children, Showacre said her mother’s gift of a tennis racket and can of balls helped her become confident. The condition of the courts, she said, prohibited her from playing there.
“Now at my age, these tennis courts are a danger to me,” Showacre said. “I can’t fall anymore.”
Mark Byer, president of the Laramie Alpine Tennis Association, said 200 adults in the city of Laramie use the courts heavily during summer months and 500 youth use them in May through October. He said the meeting was a positive step toward finding a funding source for resurfacing the courts.
“These courts have been used for many years by the tennis community, and just recently, two years ago, the tennis court started to crack and weeds are starting to grow through,” Byer said, “It’s getting near the point where the courts are not in the shape that they need to be to be played on.”
