Save the Indianapolis Tennis Center and Downtown Indianapolis Tennis!

The Indianapolis Tennis Center has been an integral part of the Indianapolis tennis scene for over 30 years. Indiana University/Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) has announced the closing and demolition of the tennis center on August 5, 2010. In its place, IUPUI will build a parking garage and the NCAA headquarters a driveway and green space at the entrance of a new addition they are building behind the current indoor tennis facility.

The Indianapolis Tennis Center has an illustrious history:
·         Site of the US Clay Court Championships (1979-1987)
·         ATP Men's Professional Tournament (1988-2009)
·         US Davis Cup Quarterfinals (1998)
·         USTA Regional Training Center (2009-2010)
·         Home to the IUPUI Jaguars Division I Tennis Team

More importantly, the Indianapolis Tennis Center has over 900 members and 200 junior tennis players that use the facility every day. Demolishing the center will deprive them of their tennnis home along with that of the dedicated staff with very little notice. There are not enough indoor tennis facilities in the Indianapolis area to absorb all these players and it would be difficult, if not impossible, to replace the expertise of the teaching programs of the Indianapolis Tennis Center. Tennis in central Indiana would suffer immeasurably from the Centers' destruction.

Contrary to reports in the news, the Indianapolis Tennis Center is financially sound, having returned over $250,000 to the coffers of IUPUI over the past three years. The Tennis Centers' well-maintained indoor facility is one of the finest in Indianapolis. The indoor courts are nicely designed, with generous space between courts and excellent lighting. The seven outdoors courts are also important to the mission of the center, hosting numerous local and regional tournaments and teaching clinics. The administration and teaching pros are superb as the designation as a USTA Regional Training Center attests to. It is a tennis center for tennis players for whom tennis is a passion. To destroy this facility is a travesty, especially for a little green space, a driveway and a parking garage.

Indianapolis needs more tennis, not less!    

We the undersigned, request that IUPUI, the NCAA and City of Indianapolis, reconsider their decision to destroy the Indianapolis Tennis Center and tennis in downtown Indianapolis. Keep the indoor facility and 6 outdoor courts. IF THAT IS NOT FEASIBLE, we request that these entities that will benefit from the destruction of the Indianapolis Tennis Center step forward and assist in relocating the tennis center in the downtown area, whether that is by donating land, soft goods, help with a building campaign or full replacement. In addition we request that IUPUI postpone the actual closing and demolition of the Indianapolis Tennis Centers’ indoor tennis facility for one year to allow the members and junior players a place to play until the replacement facility is built. These actions would pay dividends not only to IUPUI, but the mission of the NCAA and the vibrancy of downtown Indianapolis for years to come.

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