New Tennis Courts Open at East Hartford High School
Mayor Marcia A. Leclerc, joined by East Hartford Public Schools Superintendent Nathan Quesnel, cut the ribbon and officially opened the updated and renovated East Hartford High School Tennis Courts to the public at a ceremony this afternoon. The courts at the High School were subject to a major renovation and rehabilitation project completed last November, which included all new lighting, resurfacing of four existing courts and the complete demolition and reconstruction of four older courts which have been unplayable for over 25 years into one greatly expanded tennis complex.
“I am very pleased and proud to open these courts to the public today,” said Mayor Leclerc. “Thanks to the dedication of our Public Works and Parks & Recreation Departments, the East Hartford High School now has a first class facility to host tennis tournaments, and a great venue for our resident tennis players as well.”
“We are deeply grateful to the Mayor and Town Council for their support of the revitalization of the tennis courts at EHHS,” said Superintendent Nathan Quesnel. These courts are a source of pride for our kids, tennis teams and entire community. It’s getting to be an awful lot of fun watching the faces of visiting teams to EHHS when they see the developments that have been made over the past two years on campus. We are appreciative of the time, resources and effort that were invested into providing our kids with this world class facility.”
“I am incredibly proud of the work done on this renovation project” said Public Works Director Tim Bockus. “Our staff worked hard to make this a reality and it truly is a job well done. The improved lights will allow improved play and expanded evening hours for players.’
“The renovation and expansion of these courts only increases East Hartford’s fantastic collection of recreation amenities,” said Parks & Recreation Director Ted Fravel. “This project means that more residents will be able to enjoy tennis close to home and take advantage of our beautiful facility, and we will be offering tennis lessons for this summer.”
The renovation and rehabilitation project was completed with over $550,000 in funding, of which over $450,000 came from the Local Capital Improvement Program (LoCIP). Construction began in June of 2016 and was fully completed by November. The project included demolition and ground up replacement of the playing surfaces for four old courts that had fallen into disrepair and were unusable, and the refinishing of the four existing playable courts. The renovation also included a new, state of the art lighting system that saves energy, decreases light pollution and is controlled by the participants when playing.
The East Hartford High School Tennis Courts are the home of the East Hartford Hornets Tennis Program. The Courts are open to the public outside of program hours (from 8AM – 10PM). For more information please call the East Hartford Parks and Recreation 860-291-7166.
