Salute set for tennis court makeover
Sep. 7—A kind of celebration is planned to salute a recent makeover for some Pauls Valley tennis courts, while a group of local residents also have an eye on the project's next phase.
Members of the nonprofit Pauls Valley Parks Foundation are already planning the special invitations to donors for a grand opening of the four sparkling new Wacker Park courts.
It's set to start at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 10 on those freshly renovated courts on the east side of the local park.
It's both a salute to the completion of this first phase a few weeks ago and the start of fundraising to get started on the planning for all new tennis courts someday on the west side.
"The lights are on and the whole project for those four courts is over," said foundation member Kahn Nirschl, adding they are "world class" courts.
"When we get the other side done there will not be many courts in the state that are better than those right here in Pauls Valley."
As for the renovation of the four east side courts, Nirschl says the blue and green colors "really catch your eye."
He is among many asking skateboarders, bicyclers and other non-tennis activities to stay off the courts no matter how nice they're looking these days.
"It's a nice flat surface, so I understand why people do it, but it's something we're trying to educate people about," Nirschl said.
"Don't bring your bike or play soccer on the courts. That's not what it's for. It needs to be tennis play only. We want to maintain what we've got."
At the official grand opening this weekend a planned doubles tournament represents so much more for those working hard to get the renovation done.
"It will be the first tournament we've had here in Pauls Valley for I don't know how long," he said as high school events at the courts came to a stop a few years ago for safety reasons.
"It's really a celebration of what the community and city have accomplished to get to this point."
The event also represents a kind of kickoff to the next phase of a project that when done will replace the dilapidated ones on the west side of the park.
The next step is to raise about $7,500 for a soil survey and analysis of the site where eight courts are today.
"We've been told we'll have to take those courts completely out and put in new ones," Nirschl said.
"Part of that survey will tell us how many courts we can put in there. We need to figure out what we need for the planning of Phase 2. We want to get in as my courts as possible."
Plans are also to embed pickle ball and junior tennis courts on the full, regular size courts.
As for the bottom line, the four recently renovated courts were paid for with $71,000 in private funds and $15,000 in city tourism money.
Early estimates for this second phase of the tennis court project has been around $750,000.
"This next phase is almost 10 times the cost and scope of the other side. We will be actively seeking strategic partners and grants."
Nirschl says he and all the foundation members want the public to know the tennis courts are only the start as future plans are working to improve all recreational facilities in Pauls Valley.
"This is the perfect time to talk about this because there's a lot of people who don't know about the parks foundation. What they need to know is we're doing tennis courts now, but this group is going to do more later on," he said, referring to things like the overall park, walking trails and ball fields.
"We're open to feedback on what people think is important."
