No more waiting. Tom Petty Park improvements in Gainesville are underway

Brad McClenny, The Gainesville Sun
·2 min read
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Sometimes the waiting is the hardest part.

But in this case, Gainesville residents who have long desired improvements to the tennis courts in Tom Petty Park are getting what they want.

Heavy machinery began ripping up the 50-year-old asphalt courts last week at the park, located at 400 NE 16th Ave. Nets were taken down. Fencing was removed. And now the dirty work has begun.

"The cracking was significant," said Betsy Waite, the city's project manager and director of Wild Spaces & Public Places. "The courts had degraded badly over time."

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The courts, believed to have been originally constructed in the 1970s, had been resurfaced several times over the years but have been in dire need of full reconstruction, Waite said.

The $158,000 project will be built by Nidy Sports Construction Company, Inc., out of Longwood Florida, and paid for with WSPP funds.

Wild Spaces & Public Places is a one-half percent sales tax that began in 2017 and goes till 2024. Money collected from the tax go to acquiring and improving environmentally sensitive lands in Alachua County and to creating, improving and maintaining city parks and recreational facilities.

A construction crew works to tear up the surface of the tennis courts at Tom Petty Park as part of a project to reconstruct the courts at the park, in Gainesville FL. May 16, 2022. Renovations began in early May with monies from the Wild Spaces & Public Places half-cent sales tax. The tennis courts will be closed until construction is completed in August 2022. [Brad McClenny/The Gainesville Sun]

The courts will have a better water flow to prevent flooding. Once finished, tennis players will have the ability to compete on four new courts with new nets and accessories.

Two Petty Park courts will be for tennis; others for mixed-use, including pickleball

Two courts will be fully dedicated to tennis, while the others will be mixed use, providing pickleball play options with portable nets.

"We know pickleball is a fast-growing sport and we wanted to accommodate those users as well," Waite said.

During construction, the courts will be closed as improvements are made to the 25,000-foot-square-foot area.

Softball fields, racquetball courts, the dog park and playground will remain open throughout construction, which is expected to finish in early August.

"Once the courts are finished, I think they will see a lot more use," Waite said.

A small front end loader moves dirt as a construction crew works to tear up the surface of the tennis courts at Tom Petty Park as part of a project to reconstruct the courts at the park, in Gainesville FL. May 16, 2022. Renovations began in early May with monies from the Wild Spaces & Public Places half-cent sales tax. The tennis courts will be closed until construction is completed in August 2022. [Brad McClenny/The Gainesville Sun]

Tennis locals looking for a court to use can go to the nearby Northside Park for a match, Waite said. Albert Ray Massey Westside Park also has open court times, while the facilities at Tom Petty Park are being upgraded.

Upgrades to park's paths are also in the works.

In June, the city plans to begin a one-week project to improve the accessibility to the paths, which includes renovating around the playground. The estimated cost, also paid for with WSPP funds, is $2,600.

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Tom Petty Park in Gainesville gets makeover with new tennis courts