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Tennis club urges Sun City West to refurbish platform courts, calls for better usage data
Summary
Tennis‑club leaders told the Budget & Finance Committee the four platform tennis courts have deteriorated after decades without refurbishment, argued courts deter experienced players, and urged repairs while the club and operations improve data collection to show demand.
The Sun City West tennis club presented evidence to the Budget & Finance Committee on Feb. 3 that the community’s platform‑tennis courts require repair and refurbishment after more than three decades without major work.
"The platform courts haven't been refurbished for more than 30 years, closer to 40 years, and they look like it," said Larry Plaster, past president of the tennis club. He described cracked surfaces, dead spots and fence problems that he said discourage experienced players from using the facility.
Plaster disputed some of the club‑usage figures that staff presented earlier and told trustees that club‑track sign‑in data undercounts actual platform‑tennis participation because many regular players sign in through a different system or play outside monitored 'club time.' He said manual counts in short tracking windows show higher play counts and reported roughly 75 members expressing interest so far this year, with about 20 actively playing and a core group of about 12 who play most days.
The presenter also explained how red‑ball tennis — a larger, softer ball and junior racket format designed for instruction and older players — is driving new demand that can be accommodated on renovated platform courts. "Red ball is growing rapidly," Plaster said, adding that the platform courts are well suited for red‑ball play because walls keep balls in play and reduce ball retrieval.
Committee members agreed the platform courts need work but debated whether to restore them strictly as platform courts or to create more multipurpose surfaces that could host red‑ball, platform and other racket sports. Several members stressed the need for better and separate check‑in data in club track to justify dedicated space and to compare usage across subclubs; operations staff said they are planning to add more detailed check‑in options to club track.
A governing‑board member reminded the committee that the Coons courts and other facilities are part of broader master‑planning work and that some deferred maintenance decisions were previously made while awaiting that plan. Committee members nevertheless described platform‑court renovation as urgent, calling it an item on the reserve list that should not be repeatedly deferred.
Members directed staff and the tennis club to cooperate on collecting clearer participation data and to return with cost estimates and options that reflect either a platform‑preservation approach or a more multipurpose conversion.
