Tennis Courts Refurbished [AUDIO]

The tennis courts in Washington Park are being refurbished and the City of Casper hopes to have the courts ready by the end of the month. City Engineer Andrew Beamer says the courts were built in 1938 and the last serious maintenance was done more than a decade ago, so it was time.

Long-awaited refurbish:

"So we move the top two inches of surfacing; we then sealed the cracks, and put two inches of new asphalt back on it, and in the process right now of replacing the fencing around the entire perimeter of the courts."

Mr. Beamer said the new asphalt will need to dry before the athletic surface is put on, which he says will be US Open blue courts, a green perimeter, tournament lines in white, youth play lines in a darker blue.

Two weeks to cure:

"And as soon as that asphalt cures out, which it needs at least a two weeks cure period, they will start putting the new athletic surfacing back on and new tennis posts and nets, and it'll be available to play back towards the end of June, first part of July."

A U.S. Tennis Association Facility Assistance Grant of 22,000 will help with costs. The contract with primary contractor 71 Construction is around 150,000 dollars, which will come from the city's one-cent funds.

Facilities improvement grant:

"The money is actually coming from one-cent funds for park improvements, and we were actually recently awarded a grant from the USTA of Wyoming, which we've been working with for over a year and have received technical assistance from them on our specifications, and we were awarded a grant for 22,000 dollars from USTA, so that is helping offset some of the city funds for that project."

And there's going to be tournament on the new courts shortly after they are complete, says Beamer.

Soon to be tournament tested:

"There is a sanctioned tournament, I believe, that is scheduled for July 8th on those courts, so we are getting these courts done just in time for that tournament."