Rec center tennis courts get facelift

  • Oglethorpe County Recreation Department Director Mike White looks over the freshly resurfaced tennis courts. The repairs cost about $10,000, some of which was covered by original funding for the courts. (Christian Kirby II/The Oglethorpe Echo)
    Oglethorpe County Recreation Department Director Mike White looks over the freshly resurfaced tennis courts. The repairs cost about $10,000, some of which was covered by original funding for the courts. (Christian Kirby II/The Oglethorpe Echo)

    The tennis courts at the Oglethorpe County Recreation Center were resurfaced and repainted on Nov. 4.

     

    This was the first renovation to the courts, which were installed in 2015.

     

    “It was just time,” director Mike White said. “They were starting to crack in places, the surface was.” 

     

    White also said since the resurfacing started before the courts had significantly deteriorated, the repair costs were lower. 

     

     

    Image of the freshly resurfaced tennis courts.
    Image of the freshly resurfaced tennis courts. (Christan Kirby II/The Oglethorpe Echo)

     

    The renovations were completed by Signature Tennis Courts and cost about $10,000. A portion of the cost was covered by funding that had been allocated to build the courts in the first place.

     

    “About every five to seven years is the life cycle on the surface of a tennis court,” said Ronnie Boggs, a tennis player and advocate for the sport. “If you don’t resurface them, the surface gets worn out and then the asphalt underneath the surface starts to break down.” 

     

    Boggs’ main goal is to encourage the growth of the sport in the county, which he hopes will eventually allow for league tennis under the umbrella of the U.S. Tennis Association. 

     

    Boggs said the updates were necessary, not only for the convenience, but for the safety of those who play on them, and he is looking forward to testing out the courts’ new surfaces.