Shellaberger Tennis Center to be sold
May 19—The indoor Shellaberger Tennis Center at the midtown campus is under contract to be sold, with the last day of tennis on June 5 under the current ownership.
Co-owner Eric Rose posted Monday on Facebook the six-court indoor tennis center with one outdoor stadium court was being sold to an unnamed party, but the sale has not yet closed.
"They are not indicating what purpose to put the building to," Rose said in a phone interview.
Rose and Sam Hitman had bought Shellaberger in 2011 from a bank for $2 million, three years after the College of Santa Fe went defunct. Both remain the owners, but Hitman is in Denver, where both were when they acquired the tennis center.
Rose did not disclose the sale price but the 8.6-acre, 57,500-square-foot facility was listed for $4.9 million.
"It's that time in life to make a change," said Rose, whose daughter, Macy Elise Rose, is heading to the University of Hawaii to play Division I collegiate tennis. "You're always trying to determine what is best for you and your family. I look forward to the next chapter. We may move out to Hawaii as well."
Rose and Hitman had already been in the tennis business for 30 years when they acquired Shellaberger. Rose's wife, Wahlesah, is a tennis coach at Shellaberger.
The center has 250 members and at its peak under Rose and Hitman had 300 members. Memberships paid for June and beyond will be refunded, Rose noted in his Facebook message.
El Gancho Fitness, Swim & Racquet Club, with seven outdoor and two indoor courts, and Santa Fe Tennis & Swim Club with four outdoor and one indoor court, remain.
Alfred Wasilewski is a member of all three facilities, but he said he plays more at El Gancho and Santa Fe Tennis.
"I joined Shellaberger because it has a decent indoor lighting program," Wasilewski said. "Shellaberger is a beautiful facility. They have a very active USTA program. The closing of Shellaberger is a disappointment."
Shellaberger opened in November 2002 at the southeastern corner of the College of Santa Fe campus. It was funded by $6 million from Rosemarie Shellaberger, who had previously funded eight outdoor courts at the college in the 1970s. The center has two wings with three indoor courts each and an outdoor court, with a 400-seat stadium.
Rose and Hitman were operating two tennis clubs in Denver in 2011. One of their members was the daughter of Gladys Heldman, who lived in Santa Fe and for whom the stadium court at Shellaberger was named. Heldman played a critical role in the establishment of the Virginia Slims women's tennis tour in the Billie Jean King era and was the founder of World Tennis magazine.
The Shellaberger Tennis Center is the only privately owned property remaining at the city-owned midtown campus. After the College of Santa Fe folded, the campus served as the Santa Fe University of Art & Design until it, too, shut down in spring 2018.
