by Scott Sacry
The Hamilton School District unveiled their new high school tennis courts to the public on June 18th. The six new courts are located northwest of Hamilton’s football field. Their completion was the culmination of four years of planning and hard work from the Hamilton School District.
Current and former Hamilton tennis players got to play on the new courts the day before, on June 17th. Hamilton head tennis coach Bryan Dufresne was there to help celebrate and said, “The new tennis courts are spectacular. They will be a blessing to this town and its kids – I am certain of it.”
Throughout Montana, high school tennis courts are getting older and are in need of repair. There are new facilities, like the Stodden Park courts in Butte, and there are run down courts, like those in Stevensville, where the kids can practice, but can’t hold tournaments because of their poor condition.
In 2020, the Hamilton School District had extra money from Covid funds. The board knew the old Westview courts needed to be upgraded, so they made getting new courts a priority and made a deal with a company to lock in a price to construct new courts with the payments spread over four years.
Hamilton Superintendent Tom Korst estimated that the courts cost roughly $120,000 per court. “We were very fortunate to have locked in the price,” said Korst. “I think the cost would be much higher with today’s prices. We chose concrete based courts over asphalt, which cost a little more but potentially doubled the lifespan of the courts.”
Dufresne is excited about how the courts will impact the community. “These courts will have a positive impact on hundreds and thousands of students over the years, I can promise you that. Moving them on campus will be a game changer for the program, for the vibe around the game, for spectators, and hopefully will encourage more students to come out.”
Dufresne continued, “The process mirrored that of a long, hard fought three set match: ups, downs, roadblocks, hope, doubt, and in the end, perseverance and triumph.”
The courts are free to the public and available for commercial use (tournaments, lessons, etc.) for a small fee. Sorry, pickleball enthusiasts, pickleball is not allowed on these courts. But don’t worry, pickleball can still be played at the old Westview courts.