Municipal Tennis Facility Proposal

1
Municipal Tennis Facility Proposal

• April 2006

2
Overview of KATCH Initiatives
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Organized Tennis in Keller
Seeing the growing popularity of tennis in
Northeast Tarrant County and in the Keller
community, in the Summer of 2000, a small group
of men and women began discussing the needs of
tennis enthusiasts in the community.

• Our mission is to grow and promote tennis locally
  and institute a local offering of recreational
  city courts available. Courts became a huge
  hurdle for the group. Meetings with the KISD
  Facilities Director and area coaches secured the
  use of KISD tennis courts
• Meetings with Keller Park and Recreation (KPR)
  were held to develop plans for various organized
  adult leagues
• The inter-local agreement with KISD and KPR
  continues to allow
• area players to play on KISD courts while our
  contract with KPR helps
• advertise, accept registrations and assist with
  events

4
KATCH Is Chartered
As the grassroots effort continues to grow and
expand, it became necessary to formalize the
organization. The group is chartered in the
state of Texas. KATCH, Keller Alliance Tennis
Charter was established January 30, 2002. KATCH
established a governing body, formulated by-laws
and now holds monthly meetings to plan leagues
and events.

• KATCH registered with the USTA to become a formal
  Community Tennis Association
• They began meeting in peoples homes in an attempt
  to establish a Keller based tennis association
• 2004 KATCH applied for and became a 501c4
  non-profit organization
• As a USTA Community Tennis Association, KATCH has
  received
• and continues to apply for funding in the form
  of grants and
• incentives to grow the game of tennis in the
  Keller area

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Tennis Programming in Keller

• Organized league play began in Keller in Summer
  2000 and the first offering of recreational
  leagues is advertised in Keller Adventure Guide
  and KISD Community Education
• Courts are reserved at KISD locations with 15
  hours/4 days a week
• Leagues are offered (day, evenings and weekends)
  Mens and Womens Singles, Mens and Womens
  Doubles and Mixed Doubles
• To address the interest of beginner players,
  lessons are offered through KISD Community
  Education
• A member of KATCH obtains copy of USTA curriculum
  and teaches a class - the first beginner session
• The introductory lesson program has continued
  every season to date
• February 2002, KATCH along with KISD, KPR,
  Shelingham Tennis
• and Swim Club and Tough Tennis, hosts a
  community play day in
• order to introduce the community (young and old)
  to tennis. A
• large turnout indicated a significant interest
  in tennis

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Constrained Growth
In spite of the lack of facilities, KATCH
continues to expand program offerings and bring
new players to the sport.

• Leagues continue to be advertised, now through
  The Pointes Points of Interest
• Currently, KATCH is coordinating and offering
• Womens flex singles and 6 courts of doubles
• Spring 2006, the maximum number of 24 players
  signed up for Intermediate/Advanced doubles
• 16 enrolled for Beginner/ Intermediate doubles
• KATCH hosts 2 leagues of singles
• A very active sub list
• Through its introductory lesson program, KATCH
  has added 30 new players to the game

7
Limitations Exist
Tennis was off and running in Keller, but several
issues hindered the growth and KATCHs ability to
compete with the organized programs offered in
the surrounding areas.

• Lack of court availability for expansion
• Playing locations without adequate amenities
  (parking, water, restrooms, teaching pros, etc.)
• Parking at Keller High School remains unavailable
  during school day
• Restroom facilities are not accessible to the
  public
• Arrangements for parking and restroom facilities
  had to made through church on north side of
  Johnson Avenue (.2 miles from the courts)
• The only location with accessible lighting is at
  Keller High School,
• which offers sub-standard conditions
• Insufficient levels of competition

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Tennis Viability in the Keller Area
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Tennis Play it for Life

• Tennis is a game for all ages, from age 4 94.
  Nationally, approximately 10 of school age
  children play tennis, 11-12 of young adults, 22
  of mid-age adults and 35 of adults age 50 and
  over
• Tennis is not a sport that caters to the
  affluent. With racquet and a can of balls,
  youre off to the courts. 74 of the nations
  tennis players have a household income under
  100,000 and 57 under 75,000
• Tennis is one of the few sports where the family
  can join together for fun and exercise
• Tennis can be recreational, social or
  competitive on a whim or organized play learned
  at any age and played as often as you like
• Throughout the US, people are KATCHing the fever.
  Today, tennis
• is one of the fastest growing sports in the
  nation. Over 1.1 million
• new players joined tennis enthusiasts on the
  court in 2005

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Tennis Participation on the Rise
Many industry indicators show a steady increase
in the participation in the sport and demonstrate
the popularity of tennis.

• A national study completed by SGMA, Sporting
  Goods Manufacturers Association, shows tennis as
  one of the only major sports with growth in
  participation over the past few years, with an
  8.3 increase from 1998 2004
• The Tennis Industry Association, reports the
  total number of tennis players in the U.S. grew
  from 23.6 million to 24.7 million players in
  2005, a 4.7 increase
• The TIAs national survey reports that almost 9
  of the population played tennis in the last year.
• The number of frequent players those who play
  tennis 21or more times a year rose by 8.8 to
  5.2 million players in 2005
• 5.8 million new players began playing tennis in
  2005
• Player retention has improved over the past two
  years,
• with 80 percent of players continuing with the
  sport in
• 2005 (vs. 74 percent in 2004)

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Texans Love Their Tennis
With record breaking participation in Texas, Ken
McAllister, Executive Director of the USTA Texas
Section boasts that Texas tennis numbers are
statistically rocking.

• Participation reports indicate that Texas had
  over 1.7 million people play tennis in 2005
• Texas realized an increase in players of 222,000
  from 2004 to 2005
• 519,000 new players came to the sport of tennis
  in 2005
• From 2002 to 2005, Texas player base increased by
  8.71 or 445,000 with almost half of that
  increase in the past year
• Frequent players a player that plays more than
  21 times per year is now up to 434,000 players
  in Texas

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Northeast Tarrant County A Hotbed for Tennis
While the growth in tennis in the US and Texas
are remarkable, we are not to be outdone!
Northeast Tarrant County has been one of the
fastest growing tennis populations in the state
of Texas

• Adult programs have experienced tremendous growth
  over the past 6 years. With NETT, USTA, TCD and
  Metro leagues exhausting the court availability
  throughout the week
• Participation in NETT adult programs has
  increased over 44 since the opening of the
  Southlake Tennis Center in Fall 1999
• Northeast Tarrant Countys participation in USTA
  leagues has increased by 130 since 2000 with
  over 700 league participants in 2005
• TCD participation is up by 27.6 with an over 500
  participants
• Area junior programs attract nearly 400 players a
  season, a 250 rate of growth over the past 6
  years
• Junior tournament participation has steadily
  increased. Early
• tournaments brought approximately 100 players
  per event and
• now exceed 400 players

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Keller Area Player Base
Along with growth of tennis in Northeast Tarrant
County, Keller has also been consistently adding
new players to its community.

• The Keller ISD boasts one of the largest number
  of tennis players in the metroplex
• KISD High Schools have nearly 200 players across
  3 high schools and the KISD middle school tennis
  programs is one of the few in the metroplex with
  just under 300 students enrolled
• KATCH with its very limited access to courts has
  continuously offered programming since 2000 with
  a high of nearly 100 participants last year
• Hundreds of beginning tennis lessons and
  organized programs have been offered to area
  youth and adults through independent teaching
  pros looking to tap into this growing market
• With approximately 8-9 of the state and national
  population
• involved in tennis and a population in the
  Greater Keller Area
• of 112,900, nearly 10,000 individuals can be
  expected to be
• involved in tennis each year

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Where are the players?
The chart below identifies the players residing
in the Keller area that are active tennis
participants. It is remarkable how many players
reside in the Keller area that must go elsewhere
for organized tennis programming.

• Area Active Tennis Players
• Area City Players
• Greater Keller Area Keller, North Ft Worth,
  Watauga, Haslet 963
• Roanoke, Trophy Club, Westlake 150
• Neighboring Towns Southlake 484
• Colleyville 265
• Hurst, Euless Bedford 221
• North Richland Hills 221
• Grapevine 184

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The Money Goes Elsewhere
The unfortunate realityan increasingly large
number of our residents are taking their tennis
and their money to communities other than Keller.
The average tennis player spends money on

• Tennis lessons, weekly team drills, league fees,
  court fees, tournament play
• Tennis clothing, tennis shoes, tennis racquets,
  tennis balls and other accessories
• Social gatherings before and after tenniscoffee,
  lunch, shopping, etc.

This in turn, drives the shopping for non-tennis
related items to other communities as well
daily essentials, fuel, groceries, clothing,
meals taken to their families.
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Retain the Revenue
The reverse is obviously also true. When there
is a tennis facility within a community all of
these monies remain in the community.
Additionally, events hosted by the facility,
such as adult or junior tournaments, bring not
only the local players in, but also players from
around the state. A study by the USTA reports
that an average of 83 per player per day is
brought to the local community for an adult event
and 290.50 per family for a junior event. An
example of how tennis brings supplemental revenue
to a city can be seen when reviewing a few events
hosted at the Arlington Tennis Center in 2004.

• Fort Worth Spring Open Adult Tournament, a 2-day
  event with 290 players, supplemented the citys
  revenue base by 48,140
• While the Fort Worth Zonal Area Tournament, a
  2-day event with 305
• junior players accompanied by their families,
  supplemented the
• citys revenue with 177,205

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Full Service
It is not accidental that the new facilities
being built in North Texas are professionally
manned and full service facilities. With proper
accoutrements and professional staffs, these
facilities are quick to flourish. The facility
should incorporate

• Full Service Pro Shop Tennis Attire, Racquets,
  Balls and Accessories, Refreshments and Snacks
• Fully Equipped Facility Lighted Courts,
  Restroom Facilities with Showers
• Professional Instruction Private, Semi-Private
  Group Lessons, Team Drills, Classroom Training,
  Cardio Training
• Programming For All Ages and Skill Beginning
  to Advanced level for Young Children, Juniors,
  School Based Players, Adults, Seniors, and
  Families. Beginning to Advanced Junior, Adult and
  Seniors, Tennis Camps, Drop-In Drills, and
  Competitive Training Sessions
• Recreational and Competitive Leagues - Singles,
  Doubles, Mens Womens, Set Partner, Mixed
  Doubles, Ladders, Socials, USTA, TCD, NETT,
  METRO 
• USTA Tournaments and Events Pro and Semi-Pro
  Tournaments, Zonal Area
• Tournaments, Champs, Super Champs, USTA
  Sanctioned Events, Community
• Play Days, Tennis Carnivals, Fundraising Events
  to Benefit Local Charities
• Special Programs Adaptive Programming for
  Physically Challenged Athletes,
• Equipment, Training, Competition

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The Next Step
Tennis is clearly a sport that caters to the
general population. It offers fun and fitness to
people of all ages, from 4 to 94. Its growth in
popularity can be seen all the way to the local
level. Keller boasts a truly active and
growing tennis community that desperately needs a
professionally manned, full service tennis
facility. There is no question that a tennis
facility in this area would be utilized to
capacity. The evidence of established players
within our community and the constrained growth
throughout Northeast Tarrrant County would bring
an immediate influx of tennis enthusiasts to the
facility. We urge you to enhance our citys
already impressive park system and recreational
programming with a premiere tennis facility. We
respectfully ask the Park and Recreation Board to

• Add a municipal tennis facility to the Parks and
  Open Space Master Plan
• Provide the Keller City Council with necessary
  recommendations
• to fund this facility