Tennis Channel

New

AIM has arrived!

The Achievement, Integrity, Motivation (AIM)
After-school Tennis and Education Program sponsored by
the Troy Park Tennis & Sports Center

The AIM Program of Troy Park Tennis and Sports Center is under development. The program is designed to inspire the youths of Howard County, from elementary to high school, to excel in academics and athletics by providing tools to become self-confident, self-reliant, and self-directed individuals and champions in their family, school, community, and life.

The program is being developed by dedicated professionals working in athletics, healthcare delivery, behavioral health, and education to support and partner with family members, Howard County School System, and community resources to meet the goals of the program:

* Augment reading, writing, math, literacy, and computer skills.
* Promote fitness, nutrition, and social skills.
* Play tennis – the sport for life.

Facts:
Source: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

* The rate of severe childhood diabetes putting youths at risk for heart disease and diabetes has tripled in the last 25 years.
* 2.7 million children are severely obese.
* Thirty percent of teens with depression also develop substance abuse issues.
* Approximately ten million youth are left home alone either because the parent(s) are working or the cost of day care is prohibitive.

 

For more information, continue to watch this Web site or contact Kim Barnes at kim@troyparktennis.com

If you are interested in volunteering, send me an email.

Tennis keeps growing and in great shape.

Mid-Altantic Match Point Article

Serving up park funds

By Larry Carson | larry.carson@baltsun.com

January 4, 2009
Architect's rendering of tennis center proposed by Howard County Tennis Patrons, which would lease county land and pay for its design and construction. (Handout photo / December 22, 2008)

A private group's plans to finance construction of a regional tennis center in Elkridge could help advance county plans to develop the long-planned Troy Hill Regional Park into a community jewel on a historic site.

The land has been used by Europeans since about 1695, historians say, and Revolutionary War figures are thought to have met at a house on the 106-acre tract's highest hill when the property was owned by Col. Thomas Dorsey. The shell of a stone house believed to date from the early 19th century that could become park headquarters now overlooks Interstate 95 at Route 100.

Art Tollick, who leads the Howard County Tennis Patrons, said his group brings a deal any government would have trouble refusing.

"Every other group is saying, 'Come and give us the money,'" the 59-year-old King's Contrivance resident said. "We're saying, 'Work with us and we'll bring the money.'"

If the deal goes through, the county would lease the land to the tennis group. Tollick's group would raise construction funds and pay off the debt through fees charged to players, he said. The $200,000 already raised and about $300,000 more hoped to be raised would go for planning and engineering costs.

County officials also see the park as the logical place to build a large community center for Elkridge. But the economic slump and the need to complete another long-planned regional park and community center in North Laurel will likely delay the $16.9 million Elkridge park.

The current county capital budget calls for spending $3.5 million on Troy Hill park development next fiscal year, with completion in fiscal 2013. That does not include money for the community center, however.

The uncertain funding situation is the reason county and community leaders are supportive of letting Tollick's group begin the project, which is projected to cost $20 million.

"Once they do the road, parking and the tennis facility, we're into the property," said Gary J. Arthur, recreation and parks director. "We saw this as an opportunity to provide a service cheaply, with zero [county] dollars."

Area residents and County Council member Courtney Watson, who represents Elkridge, have complained for years about what they see as inadequate public amenities, so they also welcome Tollick's proposal.

"Elkridge has been the fastest-growing area in the county in the last 10 years," said Watson, a Democrat, adding that plans for expanding the library and building a community center are long overdue.

But residents think the tennis center would also add to the community.

"We see it as something else to draw people to Elkridge - like the [Timbers of Troy] golf course," said Howard Johnson, president of the Greater Elkridge Community Association.

Johnson's group has been learning about the idea for the past year, and members have voted to approve it, he said. They want the new park and community center built as soon as possible.

"It is very important to us because if it is not there and we keep developing, it will put a lot more stress on Rockburn [Branch] Park," he said of the community's popular 450-acre park. "We need more facilities already."

Tollick said his group comprises 600 tennis enthusiasts who want to build a $20 million center with 11 indoor courts, 19 outdoors, and stadium seating for 2,000 spectators. The facility would be on 16 acres near the park's planned entrance next to the Troy Hill Corporate Center. If built, he said, it would be the largest facility of its kind in the Mid-Atlantic region.

"They weren't going to build this park for many years, but we want to get going in 2009," Tollick said, though he worries that the global financial crisis could interfere.

Columbia Association facilities and county parks no longer meet the needs of area tennis players, who must go to neighboring counties for court time at peak hours on weekends and evenings, Tollick said.

Tollick said his members believe $20 million for a tennis facility would be money well spent on a popular recreational sport.

"I think it's one sport that's available for a lifetime to people of all ages and abilities," he said. "It only takes two to play."

The Troy Hill land lies between I-95 and U.S. 1, on the north side of Route 100, and has been planned as a park for years. But land acquisition problems and a lack of construction money have delayed things.

The county and state governments have devoted $700,000 to archaeological explorations around the stone house and for hiring an architectural firm to create plans.

The stone house was occupied until 1968, but the interior was destroyed by arson in 1991. The county stabilized the exterior in 1993, installing new interior floor joists, putting on a new roof, and re-pointing the mortar in the stone walls. Long poles brace those walls from the outside, keeping them firmly in place.

The county still hopes to acquire two small residential parcels on the tract, but they won't delay development, Arthur said.

Big Step Taken Toward Building The Troy Park Tennis Center

It’s a go. The Howard County Tennis Patrons (HCTP) will begin negotiating a lease with Howard County for the necessary acreage to build the Troy Park Tennis Center.  HCTP got the go-ahead in a letter from the Howard County Department of County Administration notifying HCTP of its award of Proposal No. 36-2008, otherwise know as the Troy Park Tennis Center Operation.

The letter from the Administrator of the Office of Purchasing outlines the conditions under which HCTP will be able to lease 12 to 16 acres of property in Troy Park to construct, operate and maintain a tennis facility.  The county-owned Troy Park property is located off Mansion Lane in Elkridge, Howard County, Maryland convenient to Route 1, Route 100 and Interstate 95.

While HTCP begins negotiating the ground lease with the County it will also undertake a rigorous effort to raise funds to begin building by October of 2009. HCTP has identified its key contractors, and is targeting the fall of 2010 for opening the facility and with it launching its education and tennis programs for youths and adults.

HCTP’s President Art Tollick will update the Greater Elkridge Community Association (GECA) on the status of the tennis center project at GECA’s January 22, 2008 General Meeting. Residences as well as non-residents are welcome to attend.  GECA members in attendance at its spring meeting voted overwhelmingly in favor of using a portion of Troy Park for a tennis center. 

HCTP is a non-profit whose mission is to create a premiere tennis venue and learning center in Maryland that will focus on helping children learn and grow on and off the court.  It plans on achieving this mission by incorporating all the components of world-class tennis programming and enabling students to learn, grow, watch, play, and be taught.  Successfully completing the RFP process is a major step forward in furthering HCTP’s mission.

With a committed Board, the backing of the Elkridge and broader Howard County community, and letters of support from key universities, trade associations and community associations the project is picking up steam. With the community’s support HCTP has secured over $215,000 to date. HCTP is embarking on the next phase of fundraising -- requiring several times that amount -- to afford the estimated $20 million facility.   

HTCP thanks those of who have provided support and contributions toward this new state-of-the-art tennis facility. It is strongly believed that the investment in this endeavor will greatly contribute to Howard County’s future growth, our children’s education, and the great demand for tennis courts which currently exist.   For more information or to become involved in this endeavor, contact ArtTollick at Tollick@comcast.net.

Planning Underway to Build Exciting New Tennis Facility: More Tennis Requires More Courts

Howard County, MD (May 22, 2007)  Plans are underway to obtain a lease to build a tennis facility in Troy Park in Elkridge, Maryland near the corner of Route 100, Route 1 and Maryland interstate 95, in Howard County.   The new facility to be called the Troy Park Tennis Center is an ambitious project of up to 29 courts (11 indoor) being lead by the Howard County Tennis Patrons, Inc. (HTCP).  Tennis is the fastest growing traditional sport in the U.S. and more tennis playing requires more courts, facilities, equipment and programs. The Tennis Industry Association’s (TIA) report, "Tennis Participation Trends & Studies", details various surveys and studies conducted by TIA and the United States Tennis Association. Their recent findings show tennis participation is growing with more than 25 million people hitting the courts as the result of a more than five-year growth trend.  In Howard County an estimated 2100 people play tennis regularly in USTA Leagues., the highest per capita rate in the State of Maryland.

Had any trouble finding an indoor tennis court time in Howard County?  Looking for a convenient location to take a tennis lesson year round? The need is there and HTCP is on a quest to be awarded a lease to build a tennis facility housing both indoor and outdoor courts to enhance Howard County’s and the broader tennis community’s availability and access to courts.

After completion of a feasibility study conducted by Brailsford and Dunlavey, a national sports consulting firm, the Howard County Tennis Patrons, were armed and ready to present their case for a public – private partnership with the Howard County Parks and Recreation Department, to build and manage a tennis facility.  The site of choice is a portion of land set aside in Elkridge, MD for a multi-purpose regional park.

The Howard County Tennis Patrons, Inc. (HCTP) is a nonprofit corporation formed in 2004 to promote the growth of tennis in Howard County and is committed to building a major regional tennis training center. With a vision to put a tennis racquet in every hand and provide the opportunity to keep it there for a lifetime, HCTP is planning to create a premier regional tennis facility with a full menu of quality programming for children and adults and hosting of USTA events.

Community support for the facility is growing as the true potential for the project is realized.  After several public and private meetings with Howard County officials, Art Tollick, presented a well received preliminary plan and sketch of the facility to the Greater Elkridge Community Association (GECA) members.  Support was represented and gained by a majority vote of the GECA in their January 24, 2008 meeting to allow the use of a portion of the Elkridge designated park land for the Troy Park Tennis Center. “We have worked hard to create a sense of partnership between the County, the local residents, and the tennis community”-Art Tollick.  HTCP has also secured partnership pledges from Howard Community College and University of Maryland Baltimore County. 

Though the County has yet to release an RFP (request for proposal) the Patron’s Board members are quickly moving ahead to be able to respond to the RFP and identify their development partners to build the estimated 13.5 million dollar facility.  The team HTCP has selected thus far to help them design and build the facility is comprised of several local professionals and contractors.  Millane & Associates was hired to guide HCTP’s decisions on financing of a tennis facility. The architectural firm, Gaudreau, Inc. was hired thru an RFP process to design the  facility.   Site Resources, a civil engineering firm, was recently identified to conduct the preliminary studies of the land, and Ron Schimel of the firm of Miles Stockbridge was selected as their the land use attorney.  Art Tollick states enthusiastically “We have assembled a great team to make this dream a reality.”

Funding to build the facility is planned to come from private moneys, donations, sponsorships and  bond financing.   Howard Bank has shown their support by extending a line of credit  to HCTP.  Funds have already begun to be raised through an e-mail fundraising campaign in which individuals from the tennis community generously donated as well as a grant from USTA Maryland.  Additional fundraising efforts are in development and are planned to be launched this summer.

Though not all the original founders of the HCTP remain, the current HCTP Board includes nine members: Art Tollick the new President elect in 2007, Lynn Coddington, Vice President, Dave Burnell is Treasurer, Karen Vaughn is Secretary, Charles Brown, Kim Barnes, Lemont Joyner, Suzan Lumpkin, and Dave Marshall.

For questions and information on how you can support or contribute to the Troy Park tennis facility project, contact Art Tollick, HCTP President, e-mail tollick@comcast.net.