HARLINGEN — After 12 years, the area’s tennis players are getting a pro shop nestled in one of the sport’s best public centers in Texas.
Today, Harlingen city officials will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Pendleton Park christening the transformed HEB Tennis Center with a pro shop featuring an indoor spectator area and training room.
“It’ll probably be one of the best public tennis centers in Texas,” Don VanRamshorst, who’s served as the city’s tennis pro since 1997, said Thursday. “It’s a game-changer for Harlingen.”
Now, the Harlingen Tennis Association’s got the stage to draw more tournaments to town, pumping money into the area’s hotels, shops and restaurants.
“One of the goals is to be able to accommodate tournaments,” Javier Mendez, the city’s parks director, said.
To help fund the $712,000 renovation, city officials used $500,000 left over from bonds issued in 2001.
As part of the project, HEB gave the city a $115,000 grant that’s funding the resurfacing of the center’s 14 tennis courts.
The new center’s transforming tennis in the area.
“This building is like no other in the Rio Grande Valley,” Bianca Reeves, president of the Harlingen Tennis Association, said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for the Valley.”
For about 10 years, a long modular building served as the center’s headquarters.
“There was just one toilet for everybody,” VanRamshorst said.
After tennis matches, he said, the trailer didn’t offer players room to cool down.
“This is a big transition,” he said.
Next month, the association plans to launch its search for new tournaments to bring to town.
“We’re trying to get as many tournaments as we can to bring more people into town,” VanRamshorst said.
Meanwhile, Reeves is planning to draw players from across the Rio Grande Valley.
“This building is like no other in the Rio Grande Valley,” she said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for the Valley.”
In Harlingen, she plans to bring more players to the game.
“Our purpose is to bring tennis to the community,” she said, adding the group’s grown to about 500 residents. “I’m hopeful we’ll see record numbers in 2022. I’m thinking it’s going to take off.”
The new tennis center offers VanRamshorst a chance to expand his classes.
“This new facility will enable us to reach out to players who have been away from the tennis,” Reeves said. “This facility will enable us to hold more beginner classes for adults and children, which will bring in new tennis players and further grow our tennis community. With the amount of courts, that’s going to enable us to provide a facility so everyone will have the opportunity to play.”
Inside the tennis center
Like Reeves, VanRamshorst’s got big plans for the new tennis center.
“We’ll have the best place around,” he said. “We’ve got a nice place to come out and cool down between matches.”
Inside, the 2,160-square-foot center will feature a spectator area, a training room, an office, restrooms and a lobby, where VanRamshorst plans to sell rackets, shoes and clothing.
“Hopefully, we’ll be able to have a full pro shop,” VanRamshorst said. “We’ll have drinks and snacks. It’s going to be more social. They can lounge around, watch TV.”
In the training room, he plans to meet with students to view videotaped lessons to help hone their talents.
“We’re going to be a little more professional,” he said. “We’ll videotape our lessons and let students watch. Then when they see their mistakes, they can correct them to help them advance much faster.”
Outside, a 1,540 square-foot patio will give spectators a closer view of the tennis matches.
Meanwhile, city officials are planning to expand the center.
Now, they’re reviewing the costs of a proposed project to build a lighted championship tennis court along with covered bleachers, Mendez said.
Background
For years, the members of the tennis association pushed city leaders for what’s become the new center.
In 2010, officials launched a $2.5 million project aimed at expanding the tennis courts, razing the pro shop that stood there for decades.
At the time, the tennis association planned to fund a project to build a new pro shop, Irma Garza, the city’s spokeswoman said.
“Unfortunately, that never got off the ground,” she stated.
