City eyes new tennis courts for school

GLENDALE ? The city and school district might play doubles to construct two tennis courts at Glendale High School, but school officials want to make sure the program doesn’t double fault.

Glendale Unified School District board members were unsupportive of a plan Tuesday night that would allow the city to build two tennis courts on a parking area south of Glendale High’s football stadium. They leaned instead toward an alternative plan that would have the city modify six tennis courts on the Verdugo Road side of the campus.

Trustees wanted to maintain an option to expand their “Jewel City” facilities south of Moyse Field for students who are suspended or in the final stage of expulsion, school board President Chuck Sambar said.

“I think it’s commendable that the city is looking for new space for facilities in the community,” Sambar said.

“Unfortunately the area they are seeking to build the courts is an area under district discussion for alternative use.”

The city is demolishing four tennis courts at Central Park to make way for construction of an adult recreation center, Assistant Supt. Steve Hodgson said.

City officials are proposing to resurface a portion of the existing concrete basketball courts south of Moyse Field and modify them to accommodate tennis players, with wind screens, lighting, bleachers and parking, Hodgson said.

District officials suggested using the area but Hodgson recommended the board make sure several issues were addressed. He said the project should be totally funded by the city; the improvements should belong to the district; the project must leave enough room for physical education classes for Glendale students; and the courts should be accessible to nonstudents at times approved by the district and have proper restrooms.

It is possible to build the courts and expand the Glendale facilities, he said.

“We need to look at this issue a little more,” Sambar said. “If we could accommodate both, that would be great.”

Once approved, the city could engineer and construct the courts in about 10 months, Hodgson said.

An easier option would be to convert the six tennis courts on the Verdugo side of campus, Hodgson said.

Under that plan, the city and district would have to provide public access, improve the lighting and make sure students, the physical education program and the high-school tennis teams have priority in scheduling and that community bathrooms would be built, Hodgson said.

The city owns a large brick building that houses a reclaimed water-pumping facility near the courts that could possibly be modified for use as a bathroom, Hodgson said.