Leftwich Tennis Center project no longer on hold; construction timetable updated
Corey Davis
Memphis Business Journal
Those who are eager to display their skills at the renovated Leftwich Tennis Center in Audubon Park will have to wait a little longer before they can show off that killer backhand.
Adam Walker, senior associate athletic director for development at the University of Memphis, said completion of the remodeled tennis center will likely occur in the fall of 2022.
The project — announced in August 2019 — is a partnership between the University of Memphis, the City of Memphis, Tennis Memphis (a nonprofit youth development program), and private donors.
The renovated tennis center will consist of 36 courts — 24 outdoor courts and 12 indoor courts — which is four more outdoor courts than was first announced by city officials in August 2019. Currently, the center features eight outdoor and four indoor courts.
In August 2019, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland projected the outdoor courts would be completed in fall 2020, while the indoor courts would be done in spring 2021. But that was before the COVID-19 pandemic turned the world upside down and caused the expansion to be temporarily delayed.
Walker said construction for the tennis center is planned to now start in late July or early August and will take 12 to 18 months to finish.
“With finances being up in the air, it was really difficult to pinpoint where the pandemic was heading. … We had to put the project on hold, but we are now comfortable where we are at," Walker said. "We have secured additional funding. We are really close to the finish line of funding we need."
Strickland stated in his weekly City of Memphis newsletter on March 19 that, to date, nearly $20.3 million in public and private money has been committed for the project.
According to Dan Springer, deputy chief operating officer for the City of Memphis, the project is budgeted at $23.3 million. It was originally set to be a $19 million investment, but that was before the city decided to make it an even larger facility.
The revamped Leftwich Tennis Center will be shared by the University of Memphis men’s and women’s tennis teams with the hope to be a facility that will host major college tournament events.
“Our plan is putting in bids to host the NCAA Division I championships every year,” Walker said. “We see this as a revenue generator and a positive spotlight for the city that will put tennis on the map and Memphis nationally.”
According to Walker, Tennis Memphis, local high schools, and the community will all have access and benefit from the upgraded facility.
“It’s going to be really cool for Memphians to have a place to practice and help develop their tennis skills,” Walker said.
Fleming Architects is the architect on the project, while Grinder, Taber & Grinder Inc. is the general contractor.
