Anyone who has driven on West Main this summer has seen a lot of work going on at the tennis courts.
Henryetta tennis pro Mark Johnson told Lions Club members that work should make the courts last another 50 years.
Speaking to the club Tuesday, Johnson gave a history of the over two years of fundraising and planning that went into the quarter-million-dollar project.
johnson lions"We hired the number one court building in this part of the country," he said. Australian Court Works crews demolished the old courts then spent two nights pouring a new four-inch concrete slab. Johnson pointed out the concrete relies on a network of cables throughout that are tightened after the concrete is poured eliminating any problems with cracks. "This is the same technology used at the Oklahoma University courts. "They will be there for our lifetime."
Johnson explained the concrete will take about three weeks to cure then workers will come in and smooth of the surface. A playing surface and painted lines along with new nets will finish that part of the project.
"Our fencing is going up now and we will have a 36 by 12-foot backboard in place. "That will be great for the kids. I spent hours on the backboard."
As part of the fencing project, a four-foot ball fence will be placed not he west side of the courts behind the bleachers along spectators an unobstructed view of play. The short fence will prevent tennis balls from flying into the street. New black-vinyl coated 12-foot fencing material is going to be on the north and south sides of the courts.
"This is a very rewarding project," he said. "We had a committee of eight people who helped make this happen." They included Johnson, Mark and Jane Milligan, Mike Kennedy, Johnny Truesdale, Connie and James McCullough and Stan Swyden. "We were fortunate that we were able to get a lot of people who grew up on the courts to participate. They don't play any more or live here but they appreciate what Dr. Smith did for them."
He thanked the Lions Club for sponsoring the summer tennis program. "It is huge having adult leadership. It is important for people to give back to their community."
A special stand has been built on the east side of the courts that will contain advertising signs. Revenue from those signs is used to foot the bill for the summer program. This year around 100 children of all ages participated.