Jason Sandford
Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.
Officials at the Fed Cup event in Asheville on Sunday announced that the USTA would donate $35,000 to the renovation of the city-owned Aston Park Tennis Center complex. Here are the highlights:
-Aston Park Tennis Center has 12 lighted clay courts. The center, which charges a fee for the use of the courts, is open to the public.
-The city of Asheville has been spending taxpayer dollars for years to subsidize the park’s operation. In 2014, a focus group reviewed the tennis center’s business model and made recommendations to Asheville City Council, which adopted a new fee schedule. City officials are now revisiting that plan.
-Aston Park will be undergoing a renovation, according to a USTA press release regarding its donation.
-Aston Park hosts USTA League play, junior programming, and sanctioned tournament play for adults and juniors, according to the press release. The Asheville Open, the longest consistently-running sanctioned tournament in North Carolina, has also been hosted at Aston Park for more than 85 years.
-A special on-court ceremony took place at Sunday’s Fed Cup event to honor the Fed Cup Legacy in Asheville, with Mayor Esther Manheimer and Vice Mayor Gwen Wisler standing alongside tennis officials.
-The project will be jointly funded by the USTA, USTA North Carolina, and USTA Southern, providing $35,000 to the project for its goods and services, according to the release.
-Quote from the press release: “Asheville has truly embraced everything that Fed Cup stands for and has been an absolutely wonderful host for us during Fed Cup week,” said Katrina Adams, USTA Chairman of the Board and President.
“We have been able to showcase the USTA’s mission of growing the game by involving all groups of tennis players and fans from youth to adults to wheelchair athletes, in front of sell-out crowds. With this Fed Cup Legacy project, we are proud to leave a footprint in Asheville by assisting in the renovation of Aston Park. We are honored to give Asheville’s tennis players an improved facility to play the game and we look forward to bringing Aston Park’s tennis facilities back to its glory.”
