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The Senior Coalition visited the Ernest Grundy Tennis Center on Tuesday, May 24th. The center was named in honor of Ernest Grundy, a longtime English professor at Kearney State College who helped develop youth programs, assisted in the formation of the Kearney Tennis Association, and organized and directed tournaments and matches with Grand Island, Hastings, and Holdrege.
Matt Morrow, Facility Manager, guided us around the 62,000 square foot facility. Brown Construction was the contractor for the project with design assistance by City Park and Recreation Director Scott Hayden.
Morrow informed us that the $9 million facility was largely covered by a generous anonymous donor, a Civic Center Financing Grant as well as grants from other organizations, several other generous donations, the City of Kearney, the University of Nebraska-Kearney, Kearney Tennis Association, and local community support. Other donors who contributed are identified by large signs above the south sides of each court.
The six courts that fill the building are capable of training 8-and-under age group tennis which requires a 36-foot court, 10-and-under age group tennis which requires a 60-foot court, and a designated stadium court which requires a 78-foot court. A 16-foot buffer between courts helps space out the games along with the help of the divider nets. There are two family bathrooms that include showers, mother’s room, free combination lockers, and 4 large storage rooms.
There is also a conference room equipped with presentation capabilities, dimmable lights, and fun tennis themed chairs. There are three access points to the conference room: courtside, lobby, and office entry. A north facing upstairs balcony and outdoor entrance are already prepared for the anticipated outdoor courts. The building is also home to the Kearney Parks & Recreational offices.
Equipment
Their state-of-the-art iGenie Playmate ball machine can hold up to 300 tennis balls. It creates drills, saves drills, tracks workouts, and compares results with others. Morrow said they have an iPad that links to the device and allows A.I. to learn the player’s moves and create a point against them. They also own two large machines that scrub/wash the courts and vacuum up the tennis ball fuzz. Morrow pulled the tray out from the vacuum and showed us what three days of fuzz looked like. In experience at tennis facilities, Morrow said they’ll fill a 55-gallon bin of tennis fuzz six or seven times per year. Morrow did mention that there is usually an arts and crafts individual that offers to recycle it by creating and filling pillows. The facility also has the infrastructure built for Hawkeye, the automated line calling system accurate within ½ mm.
Morrow mentioned the two most important features of the indoor facility are the court surface and the lighting:
Court Surface
The professional grade court surface is made up of seven layers of comfort cushion, or gel tar, and two layers of court surface. This extra padding makes it easier for the player’s knees and creates a more eccentric bounce for the tennis balls. Morrow said, “It’s very subtle, but there’s a little bit of a give when you press on the surface.” Tennis court surface ratings are categorized by speeds, with 1 being the fastest and 5 being the slowest (preferred). Outdoor courts such as Harmon Park have a speed of 1, while the Ernest Grundy Tennis Center holds a 3, the same speed as the Miami Open. A slow tennis court is a court that significantly reduces the overall speed of a tennis ball. Bouncing a tennis ball in a slow court reduced the speed of movement but the ball bounces higher. Since a tennis ball moves slowly in a slow court, the game tends to last longer. There are only one or two courts in the world with a speed of 5.
Court Lighting
The court’s light intensity of 100-foot candles (about 1076 lux) has the quality to accommodate World Tournaments. The lights are positioned upwards, facing the reflective ceiling, to defend against highly hit tennis balls and distribute lighting evenly on the courts.
“To have the opportunity to be able to play year-round and to be able to grow and develop a little bit of a higher tier of an athlete & tennis player – the opportunities here will help us compete at national scale.” Morrow went on to say, “With all the instructors and tennis enthusiasts, with this facility, Kearney will be taking a step forward in tennis.” Kearney’s goal with this facility is to grow tennis with their mission “We are Public First.” They will make this facility as available to the public as possible, especially during events and lessons.
To reserve a court, use the Court Reserve app. The cost with a pass is only $3.00 per hour, and the cost without a pass is $6.00 per hour. Morrow mentioned the quality of this facility and the price to use it is amazing compared to other indoor facilities across the country.
The Ernest Grundy Tennis Center will serve as the host site of the 2023 and 2024 ITA Division II Women’s National Team Indoor Championships and has been mentioned in US Tennis Association. Court two is considered their stadium court, net posts can be removed, and stadium seating can be brought in by the side garage doors.
An upcoming Ribbon Cutting Ceremony is scheduled for the Ernest Grundy Tennis Center on Thursday, June 2nd at 5:00 p.m. at their location of 1930 University Dr. in Kearney, NE.
