Roaring Fork Valley Tennis

PUBLIC INDOOR TENNIS AT SNOWMASS VILLAGE RECREATION CENTER

Please write a letter of support to the Snowmass Village Sun:

NEXT PUBLIC MEETINGS please attend

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 21- TOWN COUNCIL MEETING evening

ACE-IT has been working to bring affordable, publicly accessible indoor tennis to the Roaring Fork Valley for several years. After careful consideration and public input, ACE-IT has chosen the Snowmass Village Recreation Center as our preferred location.

Snowmass has four new public hard courts as part of their recreation complex. The Recreation Department is very receptive to working with ACE-IT to seasonally enclose those courts. The center includes the most complete public workout facility in the valley, a pool, gym and locker rooms. An indoor RFTA bus stop is at the site, as is a Snowmass Village Shuttle stop and an Aspen School District bus stop. There is also ample parking. The Snowmass Recreation Department will operate the facility with input from an ACE-IT advisory committee. Programs and court time will be open to all valley residents and guests at rates geared to local families and individuals. This would be the only facility in this valley where affordable tennis is completely accessible to the public in the winter.

Public indoor tennis is needed in this valley for several reasons and is long overdue. Tennis is a popular, healthy activity for valley youth. The Aspen High School boys team has a record 43 participants this season, giving tennis one of the highest participation rates of any sports. Local adult leagues are growing. Visitors continue to request opportunities to play tennis on their vacation. But while interest expands, opportunities to play in the winter are dwindling in this valley. Tennis courts are being replaced by condominiums. Clubs that used to welcome non members no longer do, or allow very limited access at increasingly high rates. For many locals and guests, there is no place to play tennis in the winter. With a public facility, members from all local clubs can play together with non members-- expanding opportunities and building community.

If we are successful in getting a permit, ACE-IT must raise all funds needed to purchase the bubble. Approximately $275K is needed to seasonally enclose two courts and $550K is needed to enclose four. (A two court bubble can easily be expanded at a later date.) Since most of the foundation work is already in place, the bubble can be put up at almost any time of year. Our time frame will depend on how quickly the money can be raised. Donations will be tax deductable. We are now taking informal pledges, so we will be in a position to raise money quickly.  Please e-mail us us if you would like more information.

Additional volunteers are also needed to spread the word, write letters, and help organize people. Please e-mail us with your name and phone number if you would like more information about getting involved.

UPDATE: SEPT 7, 2011

By a 4-1 Vote Snowmass Village Town Council approved moving forward on our request to enclose the public courts at the Snowmass Rec Center!

We still need to complete a special review process, but that can be done in the next couple weeks. Please check this site and look for emails about our next (and hopefully final) public meeting.

If you can volunteer for even a few hours, please email us at ace-it@rfvtennis.org. --thanks!

UPDATE: SEPT 1, 2011

Town Council Meeting Sept 6, at 6pm in the Snowmass Village Town Hall

UPDATE: AUGUST 2011

Until recently, most of our effort has focused in Aspen. We now have a new option that has the potential to move much quicker and offers advantages that previously explored sites do not. Our new option is the Snowmass Village Recreation Center.

ACE-IT will meet with Snowmass City Council Tuesday, September 6th- the day after Labor Day beginning about 6:00 at Snowmass Town Hall behind the gas station. If you support public indoor tennis, this is a meeting you must attend.

We hope you will attend the September 6^th meeting, and consider contributing to public indoor tennis.

For more information please email us at ace-it@rfvtennis.org

MARCH 2011

To help us better understand the needs of the tennis community, please take our three minute survey. Your input and comments are encouraged.

The rendering on the right illustrates the 4-court bubble proposal considered at the Aspen Golf and Tennis Center. -note: after careful consideration and input, ACE-IT has changed its preferred location to the Snowmass Village Recreation Center