A new home for Texas Tech men's and women's tennis teams was under construction in 2001. Plans include a center court and 12 practice/tournament courts, the number of courts required to host NCAA tournaments for the Big 12.

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In January of 2001, Texas Tech Women's Tennis Coach Virginia Brown said the facility will have a strong impact on the tennis programs by providing the athletes with a true home-court advantage.

"The support the university and community is showing with their commitment to this project is wonderful," Brown said. "We're building, expanding. We're here to make a change. We're here to wind the Big 12 and we will win. The new facility just provides more momentum. It's a place our kids can call home."

Tim Siegel, head coach of the men's tennis program said the renovation of the football stadium, and construction of tennis and softball facilities will help elevate the image of the university as a whole.

"We're in a very hard conference and this new facility will really be an asset," Siegel said. "It's the heart the players have, how much they love to compete - that's what makes a team. With the new facility, I think there comes higher expectations of your self. You have a home to fight for, it's an even greater sense of community. We're already strong, but this will make us that much stronger."

In addition to college tournaments, there are plans to use the facility for community events and annual professional exhibitions.

The article below was published in the
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal on Saturday, April 15, 2000
Negotiations near end for Tech facilities

By RAY GLASS
A-J Assistant Sports Editor

Texas Tech officials are negotiating with the low bidder on a $2.5 million softball and tennis complex and hope the new facility will be ready for use early next year, athletic director Gerald Myers said this week.

''There won't be a start date until we get that contract negotiated and signed,'' said Myers, who declined to disclose the name of the construction company that submitted the project's low bid until negotiations are complete.

Chancellor John T. Montford said Friday Tech hopes ''to have a contract next week.''

Myers said the school has $2.5 million committed for the project, a scaled back version of two separate facilities included in the November, 1997 Tech campus master plan.

''We want to be ready to play Jan. 1, 2001. That is our target,'' Myers said.

The facility would be built just north of the Tech freeway and west of the Ronald McDonald House. The new softball field would be east of a current parking lot for the Tech Recreational intramural fields, where the Red Raider softball team plays its home games. The new tennis facility would be north of the current softball fields.

An architectural model of the new complex is in the lobby at the south end of Jones Stadium.

The new softball field would face southeast and be built utilizing an earthen berm. The new tennis complex would feature 12 courts and bleacher seats.

Tech does not currently have funds to build the narrow building between the tennis courts that would provide indoor seating, Myers said. And it doesn't have all the funds to build the pavilion between the tennis courts and softball field. The pavilion would provide tennis and softball dressing rooms, public restrooms and concession stands.

Myers labeled the pavilion ''a necessity,'' estimated its cost at $900,000 and said it would be the first addition to the project. Montford said an additional $500,000 is needed to fund the pavilion.

Myers estimated the cost of the building between the tennis courts at $1 million.

The complex has not been named, but Montford said recommendations will be made to the Tech Board of Regents, possibly at its May meeting. He said the recommendations are: Rocky Johnson, former board chairman and president and CEO of GTE, for the softball field; Don and Ethel McCloud, owners of Stenocall-Lubbock Radio Paging Service, for the tennis facility; and Bob and Edith Garst from Midland for the pavilion.

In the Tech campus master plan, the separate tennis and softball facilities were both larger than in the newest plan and designed to seat at least 1,800 fans. The tennis facility had a center court, as well as outlying courts.

Tech actually broke ground for a new softball field on Jan. 29, 1999 near Dan Law Field. But problems with campus tunnels made that location too expensive.

Former head coach Rene Luers-Gillespie has said when she was hired in 1995 to revive the softball program, she was promised an on-campus facility by 1998. She resigned effective Feb. 29 to accept the head coaching position at Central Florida.

Myers said he does not believe the lack of a permanent home field was the reason Luers-Gillespie left Tech.

Tim Siegel, in his eighth season as Tech men's tennis coach, said he expects ''things will get started soon.'' He referred questions about the new facility to Myers.

Ray Glass can be contacted at 766-8731 or rglass@lubbockonline.com