Indianola High School Adds Modern Tennis Complex

School District Updates Athletic Facilities

The tennis court complex fit seamlessly with the high school’s athletic fields.

The Indianola Community School District has been in campus upgrade mode for the better part of the last decade. Guided by an Athletics Facility Master Plan, the district has been steadily replacing several aging athletic facilities and providing upgrades at others. The Snyder & Associates team has been heavily involved in many of these projects, including the site evaluation and construction of a new tennis court complex to serve the district’s high school.

Site Assessments Determine Optimal Tennis Complex Location

The school district initially approached our team to conduct site assessments at four different locations to evaluate possible sites for the proposed tennis courts. After the evaluations and our team’s recommendation were presented to the school board, the decision was made to move forward with a twelve-court complex located just to the north of the high school building.

Crews prepare the site for the new tennis courts.

Twelve regulation tennis courts were designed by our team and sent to bid. However, when bids were returned that exceeded the district’s budget, our team quickly adapted the plan to construct ten courts on the same site and kept the project on schedule. This professional-grade complex included asphalt courts with posts, nets, paint surfacing, and ten-foot-tall, galvanized fencing. Electrical service was included in the design to provide court lighting, electrical outlets, and outdoor conduits. A spectator area was designed and constructed between the courts with a concrete apron and bleacher-style seating.

Project Set-Back Dealt with Quickly

During construction, a small piece of shale was discovered on the surface of the asphalt mix. While seemingly insignificant, if the surface coating had been applied over this imperfection, it could have potentially ruined the court’s playing surface. Our team quickly investigated the cause of this problem and determined that while the asphalt mix did meet DOT standards, it was not adequate for the court’s surface. After discussions with the contractor and school district personnel, our team provided a solution that included milling a fine layer of asphalt from the surface and reapplying a smoother topcoat. This solution allowed for the surfacing paint system to be applied in the spring resulting in no lost practice time for the tennis team.

With many years of high-traffic competition play now in the books, the tennis courts at the Indianola High School are performing exceptionally well. Our team looks forward to assisting the Indianola Community School District in the future as their town and district continue to grow.