Orange Township: NewGen Tennis Academy proposes indoor-outdoor dome on Green Meadows

A plan before Orange Township trustees would result in a large rounded white thing appearing during part of the year in a slightly out-of-the way spot.

The location is on Green Meadows Drive south of the Home Road extension, east of U.S. Route 23, and the white thing would be an air-supported dome covering tennis courts.

That's just one detail of an application to rezone the 3.7-acre site for the planned NewGen Tennis Academy facility.

A township zoning department’s report said the plan calls for an indoor-outdoor facility featuring six pickleball courts with a dome or metal warehouse structure, five tennis courts under a dome, three tennis courts under a permanent roof, office spaces, service-building spaces, a parking area, landscaping and 63 parking spaces.

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Office and service-building space would be constructed in two phases, with 2,459 square feet of office space initially and an additional 6,000 square feet proposed in a later phase at an undetermined date.

Township trustees have scheduled a hearing on the plan for 5:30 p.m. July 20.

The township’s zoning commission voted June 14 to recommend the plan for approval.

At the commission's May 24 meeting, Rebecca Mott of Columbus-based Plank Law Firm represented the applicant and said the rezoning was needed to modify the text of the site's planned commercial and office district to allow the tennis facility as a specific use.

Details of the plan were described to the commission June 14 by Donald Plank of Plank Law Firm and Balazs Novak and Tito Bonadonna, two of the owners of NewGen Tennis Academy.

Novak said the facility would house the academy's operations and typically no more than 40 to 45 individuals at a time would be at the new location.

"We are planning to have tournaments, but it's not like we're trying to plan Wimbledon or anything like that," he said. "Just smaller local tournaments and some that will have very limited viewers. It won't be hundreds and hundreds of viewers."

The facility's use of at least one dome would be temporary and seasonal, Novak said, and limited to colder weather. NewGen's customers would want to play only outdoors when weather permits, he said.

Plank said each time the dome is erected, it faces the same inspection requirements as a new permanent building.

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Mott on May 24 told the commission other such domes are in routine use around Ohio.

The zoning commission on June 14 modified the plan to specify dates from Oct. 1 to May 30 for use of the dome.

That followed discussion of whether the dome's use needed to be limited by specific dates.

"Our goal is to take it down as soon as the weather's nice," Novak said, and some flexibility would be helpful during unseasonable cold spring and fall weather.

Plank said the dome wouldn't be easy for most people to spot.

The facility is surrounded by commercial and industrial property, with the nearest residences on the opposite side of the railroad tracks and a large field, he said.

Zoning commission member Adam Pychewicz said the dome still likely would draw attention.

"You know as well as I do, as soon as people start seeing this thing, they're going to say, 'What's going on here?'" he said. "And it's going to be a lot easier as the township responds to say, 'Well, this is just a temporary structure. ... This is just made to allow this place to be functional. ... It's a sports complex,’" he said.

Plank called the Oct. 1-to-May 30 timeframe acceptable.

Novak said it's undetermined if future office space would be available for tenants.

NewGen's website, newgentennis.com, states, "We are a new tennis academy. ... Designed to help kids and young adults achieve their goals and dreams, while reaching their maximum potential in our sport and becoming better individuals in the process."

NewGen also is on Facebook at @NewGenTennis.

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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: NewGen indoor-outdoor tennis facility proposed in Orange Township