How USTA Tennis Venue Services added infrastructure at Appalachian State University
The tennis community in the western North Carolina town of Boone, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, recently had reason to celebrate when Appalachian State University opened six new outdoor courts. The project is part of a larger sports complex that includes an outdoor track, a softball complex and, in its next phase, the addition of a six-court indoor tennis building.
The tennis project, which was proposed about seven years ago, was kickstarted when the university received a $1 million gift from the Southern family that is designated for the new indoor court complex, in honor of the late Mildred Southern, an App State graduate.
“Various moves over the years had impacted the courts that we had, so we were without courts for a few years. But we realized we had a need for tennis courts on campus,” says Doug Gillin, the App State director of athletics.
Adjacent to the App State campus sat a long-vacant high school and its surrounding land. “The university purchased the old high school site from the county,” Gillin says. “It had the footprint for tennis courts, but they hadn’t been used in many years.”
Gillin and his staff then connected with the USTA’s Tennis Venue Services team for help with building the new courts. “We’re so thankful to the USTA for walking us through this process,” he says.
“They went over everything with us—the different types of courts and surfaces, how they should be built, amenities such as
scoreboards, and so much more.”
The six outdoor post-tensioned concrete courts were completed shortly before Hurricane Helene swept through the area in late September, but they survived the wind and severe flooding with no damage, says Robin Jones, a senior consultant with USTA TVS, who worked on the App State tennis project.
Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C.
“USTA TVS was very involved with the engineering plans for App State,” Jones notes. “They really did it the right way. They put in amenities such as umpire chairs and player benches, and we’re waiting on an electronic scoreboard for the facility, which will be a nice addition.”
“App State has historically had solid men’s and women’s tennis programs,” says Kelly Gaines, the executive director of USTA North Carolina, which contributed $10,000 to the project, its maximum grant amount for this category. “Unfortunately, the men’s program was canceled during the Covid year of 2020, but now the women’s team has a permanent home. Plus, the vibrant tennis community in the Boone area is excited for this public tennis option.”
The USTA Southern section also contributed $40,000 to the App State project. “We want to continue to encourage the building and enhancement of tennis facilities,” says USTA Southern President Brett Schwartz. “We want to do everything we can to encourage colleges to have nice facilities and to possibly bring programs back.”
Gillin says the indoor court project, which will also involve USTA Tennis Venue Services, will probably be finished in early 2026. “We just got our bids back and we will soon be ready to break ground on the indoor facility,” he notes.
“Our goal is to promote tennis, and to do it with a valued partner in the USTA,” adds Scott Crothers, the university’s senior associate athletic director for health, wellbeing and performance. “This doesn’t just impact Appalachian State and our students, but the whole community as well.”
For more on how the USTA’s Tennis Venue Services can help your facility or project, visit usta.com/facilities or email facilities@usta.com.
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