Tennis group asks to build indoor facility on RPS land near Byrd Park

Richmond Public School Board members appeared skeptical of a free “gift” proposed to them that would create a $15-$20 million, eight-court indoor tennis complex behind Lois Harrison-Jones Elementary School near Byrd Park. 

Second Serve RVA, a newly created local tennis foundation, is asking RPS to be the landlord of the indoor tennis courts and provide a long-term lease for the foundation. In return, the foundation would refurbish the tennis courts of nine Richmond schools, including Mary Munford Elementary School, Albert Hill Middle School and Armstrong High School. The organization would also place the Black Tennis Hall of Fame at the facility, pay for staff to provide tennis programming to RPS students and mentor RPS staff on how to teach the sport. 

“This is going to be a tremendous boost to the Richmond Public Schools students,” said Irv Cantor, president-elect of the Richmond Tennis Association and board member of the Black Tennis Hall of Fame. “I predict if we can get this done, we will have another Arthur Ashe coming out of Richmond.”

The project has been in the works for the last two years, Cantor said, and Superintendent Jason Kamras mentioned the proposal presented was revised. It is a collaboration between a variety of local tennis associations, including the Metro Richmond Tennis Club. The city’s Parks and Recreation Department is also involved, said Cantor, who is a prominent lawyer in the state. 

The board members expressed excitement about the idea, but weren’t fully convinced, as they raised a variety of questions. 

A major concern was funding and upkeep. School board members made it clear they didn’t want the responsibility to fall on the division if the organization fails to keep up with the funding to keep operations running. 

The property alone is worth around $18 million, board members said, making the free cost to RPS “a little bit of a stretch, because the property’s value is equivalent to how much the project would cost,” Stephanie Rizzi (5th District) said.  

Wesley Hedgepeth (4th District) asked Cantor if RPS would have to eventually pick up the tab to pay for the staff at the building in the future if fundraising falls short. Because the lease payment would be in the form of refurbishing the nine school tennis courts, Vice Chair Matthew Percival asked the board and Kamras to consider how often refurbishment would be and how that should be reflected in the lease. Questions around where donations are coming from, and whether or not the division could vet the donors, came up as well. 

Cantor said the foundation currently has enough money to pay staff for the first three years, but plans to keep and grow staff without RPS having to pay a cent. The foundation may sell naming rights of the courts, but the majority of the funding will come from charitable donations, he said. He also welcomed RPS being involved in the vetting process of donors. 

Another question raised was around outreach, as Shonda Harris-Muhammed (6th District) was concerned over how accessible the tennis services would be to RPS students, particularly Black and Brown students in impoverished and high crime areas.

“To introduce an activity where probably 80 to 95% of children have never seen it on TV, not in person, nowhere in their community … we have to be intentional about introducing it to them,” she said.

Although not directly, Rizzi expressed frustration with the statement, explaining that her son “spent every single summer since he was five years old teaching tennis.”

“This work is being done,” she said. “Has it taken off? I think there are a lot of questions for why it has not, but there are tennis courts in Richmond at our schools that have been refurbished and still don’t have tennis programs.”

Katie Ricard (2nd District) asked about logistics, highlighting the inclusion of parking lots along with the tennis courts, noting the potential congestion and traffic that may occur while kids are in the area. 

Cantor said he believes the parking lots will help create the additional space that isn’t currently available, causing the congestion.

Cheryl Burke (7th District) said that while she appreciates the vision and acknowledgment of local tennis history by means of Arthur Ashe, she doesn’t want a repeat of what happened to the Arthur Ashe Center, an athletic facility built in 1982 that fell into disrepair and ultimately will be torn down as part of the Diamond District development. 

“Sometimes in the city of Richmond, we have great ideas, we build great buildings, and then as years pass, they deteriorate and it falls back on us or the city,” she said. “We can’t keep doing that.”

She said the potential failure for the organization to keep up with the demands and responsibilities of the idea would show “dishonor towards Arthur Ashe and his family and what you all do as well.”

Cantor insisted that the foundation and tennis groups involved, along with RPS’ oversight will help “run this facility the right way and keep it in perpetuity.”

“I just want to make sure we’re not left [out],” she responded. 

Contact Reporter Victoria A. Ifatusin at vifatusin@richmonder.org. This article has been updated to reflect that the Arthur Ashe Center is planned to be demolished.