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Tennis group gets $500,000 pledge for building to cover Crown courts

Scott Condon
The Aspen Times

An effort by tennis lovers to raise funds to construct a building to cover four courts at Crown Mountain Park in El Jebel has received a big boost with a $500,000 pledge.

The pledge came earlier this month from a donor who wants to remain anonymous, said Diana Cordova Elliott, president of Advantage Indoor Tennis, better known as Ad In.

Ad In is trying to raise $1.12 million to construct a garagelike building that will have two sides that can be completely opened during summers and good weather. The building will be closed and heated during winters and cold shoulder seasons.



The group hopes to build off the momentum of the high-dollar pledge. Some people were holding back their contributions because they weren’t certain the project would happen, Cordova Elliott said.

“This hopefully triggers the other tennis enthusiasts to come forward.”
Diana Cordova Elliott
President, Ad In


“This hopefully triggers the other tennis enthusiasts to come forward,” she said.



The group is also seeking in-kind services from construction companies to help build the structure. She noted that the BMX track at Crown Mountain was constructed from private contributions and in-kind services. The group will explore making the building as “green” as possible, with high-efficiency lighting and heating systems. A solar photovoltaic system also will be explored, Cordova Elliott said.

The Crown Mountain Park and Recreation District’s board of directors has signed off on the project, but no taxpayer funds will be used to construct the building, according to Ted Bristol, a member of the recreation district’s board and an organizer of Ad In.

The recreation district has agreed to cover operations and maintenance of the building, Bristol said. The tennis facility is expected to generate more money than needed to operate and maintain it, he said.

Revenue would be raised through fees for events and for some individual use. Tennis players would pay a fee to use the courts during the months they would be closed without the cover, according to Bristol. In addition, tennis players currently pay a fee to reserve a court during warm-weather months. No fee is paid when players walk up and a court is open.

The structure covering the tennis courts received conceptual approval in the land-use review for Crown Mountain Park. Eagle County officials still must approve the design of the building. Cordova Elliott said she hopes to see that happen in 2015. If so, construction will start in 2016. The building would take about six months to construct.

Once completed, the facility would be the only public indoor structure from Aspen to Glenwood Springs and over to Grand Junction to the west and Edwards to the east, according to Bristol.

“It’s a real community amenity,” he said.

More information about the effort can be found at http://www.adin rfv.org. Interested donors also can call Bristol at 970-963-8006 and Cordova Elliott at 970-927-4693.

scondon@aspentimes.com

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