A Model for Durango

The Marie Shellaberger Tennis Center, Santa Fe, NM

The Rosemary Shellaberger Tennis Center, built at a cost of $4,500,000, serves the entire Santa Fe community with not only a year round tennis facility but also conference rooms that attract meetings, seminars and tourists to Santa Fe. It has six permanent indoor courts which are joined by a clubhouse, a lounge area, locker rooms, an exercise area, meeting rooms, administrative offices, pro shop and gallery seating which will accommodate 700 spectators. The indoor courts have shadow and glare-free indirect lighting which eliminates any glare from overhead lights. The state-of-the-art "Rebound Ace" hardcourt surface is the same surface used at the Australian Open and 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney. This unique "Rebound Ace" is acclaimed the world's best ultra-cushioned hard court surface and is also used at the Phoenician Resort in Scottsdale. The Rosemary Shellaberger Tennis Center is now building six Rebound Ace outdoor courts and a championship stadium court with a seating capacity of approximately 1,000. The stadium court opened on April 24, 2004.

An indoor facility similar to the Shellaberger Center but with an outside architectural design similar to the Durango Recreation Center, can be created for Durango with multiuse facilities such as conference and meeting rooms, classroom and media rooms, and a gym for gymnastics. Tiles that dovetail together can be easily installed on the tennis court surface for large community fundraising events and conferences. With a new location for the equestrian/fairgrounds at Grandview, this public tennis facility could be located between the recreation center and DHS which would be ideal for the community.