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 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 locations to evaluate possible sites for the proposed tennis courts. After the evaluations and our team’s recommendation were presented to the school board, we decided to move forward with a twelve-court complex just 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 that exceeded the district’s budget were returned, 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 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 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 asphalt layer from the surface and reapplying a smoother topcoat. This solution allowed 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, the tennis courts at Indianola High School are performing exceptionally well. Our team looks forward to assisting the Indianola Community School District as its town and district continue to grow.
