How USTA Tennis Venue Services helped Steamboat, Colo. raise the bar

Creating an active, successful tennis facility is all about developing great partnerships, and that’s exactly what Steamboat Tennis & Pickleball Complex has been able to achieve. From a vital partnership with the City of Steamboat Springs, Colo., to working with sponsors and donors, to connecting with community groups, schools and industry organizations, STPC has brought together a team that makes it not only a key member of the community, but also a leader in the racquet sports industry.

“The Steamboat Tennis & Pickleball Complex really is a total community hub,” says Fritz Garger, executive director of USTA Colorado & the Colorado Youth Tennis Foundation. “They have great connections and involvement throughout the community and receive terrific support for the programs they run, both on and off the court. The community itself really comes together in an amazing way, and the tennis center has a lot to do with that.”

In addition to support from USTA Colorado and the USTA Intermountain section, STPC also has partnered with the USTA’s Tennis Venue Services group to help renovate its tennis facilities. “The USTA has always been so helpful, not only with funding help, but with resources, connections to people and companies, facility know-how, and much more,” says Meg Tully, the center’s executive director.

As part of STPC’s multi-phase expansion and renovation plan, the facility worked with USTA Tennis Venue Services design consultant Lynne Schachte and others to take out three outdoor clay tennis courts and turn them into four post-tensioned concrete, cushioned hard courts, along with resurfacing two other existing hard courts. STPC now has six outdoor tennis courts available, to go with the six indoor tennis courts.

“Everything looks beautiful,” says Tully of the renovation, completed in July 2023. “The new courts complement the entire facility, so instead of looking like a haphazard complex of separate puzzle pieces, we look uniform and consistent, offering top-notch outdoor courts.” The renovation also addressed drainage issues on and around the courts and added additional parking spaces. The new outdoor courts also have 36-foot and 60-foot blended lines.