Arlington Mayor Dr. Robert Cluck

March 9, 2005
10^th Anniversary Celebration for the Arlington Tennis Center

Recently, I had the opportunity to attend the 10^th Anniversary Celebration for the Arlington Tennis Center. The celebration highlighted the history of the Center, as well as the many opportunities it offers to the public, and it reminded me of what a gem we have in that facility.

The facility opened in 1995 with a full-service pro shop and 12 courts. The initial construction costs were authorized in the 1991 bond program at a cost of $2 million. The $1.5 million phase II of the Center was completed in 2002 and added 8 additional courts and parking. Throughout the years, many notable events have been held at the Arlington Tennis Center. For example, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) holds its $15,000 Men’s Pro Challenger Event at the Center every fall. There are also nine State and National USTA sanctioned tournaments held there each year with more than 500 participants at each event, directly impacting area hotels, restaurants, and retail shopping. Stephen Welch, the fourth ranked wheelchair tennis player in the world, calls the Arlington Tennis Center home. Over the years, the Center has also received many awards, including the USTA Sectional Organization of the Year (1995), the USTA Excellence in Tennis Programming (1995), the USTA Outstanding Tennis Facility (1996), and the USA Tennis National Recognition Program Award (2000). The Center’s director, Laura Gilbert, was recently named Facility Manager of the Year in 2004 for the state of Texas by the United States Professional Tennis Association.

The staff at the Center includes United States Professional Tennis Association (USPTA) certified tennis instructors, including former men’s and women’s touring pros. There are 20 lighted, wheelchair accessible courts, in pristine condition, and the Center is open to the public, with no membership fees. The price to play is more than reasonable with open play for only $3 per hour and a half. If you don’t already play tennis, beginner classes for children and adults are offered six days a week. For those with more experience and skills, they have junior academy training for future stars, and adult recreational leagues morning and evening for all levels, seven days a week. The Center currently houses 29 Adult USTA League teams for men and women. It also has a full service pro shop with the latest in clothing and equipment, certified stringers and state of the art stringing machines on site, and ball machine rental and video analysis available 7 days a week. The Arlington Tennis Center is open Monday – Thursday 8am – 9:30 pm, Friday-Saturday 8am-8pm, Sunday 12pm-8pm.

For me, the most significant benefit that the Arlington Tennis Center has to offer is the chance to improve your fitness level while having fun with your friends, new and old! Tennis is a family-oriented lifetime sport that can be played and enjoyed at all levels from ages 4 to 94! Recently, the Osteoporosis Society has named tennis as their #1 activity to promote bone density health, and the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, calls tennis an ideal sport for a healthy heart. This makes a lot of sense when you consider that in one hour on the court a player will burn an average of 493 calories. Tennis beats jogging [432], aerobics [352], and biking [387]! The Anti-Aging Society has stated that playing tennis exercises the brain as well as the body and is an excellent activity for seniors to keep mind and body sharp. In the future, the Arlington Tennis Association and Arlington Independent School District are planning to offer scholarships, equipment, and programming to area youth at the Arlington Tennis Center, with an emphasis on including multicultural, and special needs citizens.

I encourage you to come out to the Arlington Tennis Center, located at 500 West Mayfield, 817-459-6163, to see what it has to offer to you!

Robert N. Cluck, M.D.
Mayor of Arlington