LU tennis courts get $107K in grants

Shelby Kardell /News Tribune
Rubble lay at the remains of the Yvonne Walker Hoard tennis courts at the corner of East Dunklin and Lafayette Streets in Jefferson City on Thursday, July 20, 2017.
Shelby Kardell /News Tribune Rubble lay at the remains of the Yvonne Walker Hoard tennis courts at the corner of East Dunklin and Lafayette Streets in Jefferson City on Thursday, July 20, 2017.

The United States Tennis Association has awarded a second grant to Lincoln University for the Myrtle Smith Livingston Park tennis courts project.

The $17,500 grant - from USTA's Facility Assistance Program - will go toward construction of the tennis courts project on which Lincoln University and the city's Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department partnered. The project involves replacing the current tennis courts at the corner of Lafayette and Dunklin streets with four new tennis courts.

The project also received $15,000 from USTA Missouri Valley and $75,000 from the Department of Natural Resources, bringing the total grant amount to $107,500.

Sheila Gassner, executive director of facilities and planning at Lincoln University, said they have not applied for other grants.

They originally planned to receive $20,000 from USTA national, leaving a $2,500 difference, Gassner said. The plan is to split the cost, but she has not yet talked to the Parks department to go over the details.

The project costs $640,000. Originally, the Parks department paid $340,000 and the university paid $190,000, but those numbers will change when the entities decide how to split the remaining $2,500.

The courts will be slanted from the roads to prevent the sun from shining in players' eyes and will contain top-level surfaces and lighting to allow USTA-sanctioned tournaments.

The project is set to be completed by Dec. 1.

"We are very excited to receive the official notice and look forward to our courts meeting USTA technical requirements," Gassner said.