{"id":26128,"date":"2025-07-21T12:54:08","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T12:54:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/26128\/"},"modified":"2025-07-21T12:54:08","modified_gmt":"2025-07-21T12:54:08","slug":"group-including-arthur-ashes-nephew-wants-to-build-15m-indoor-tennis-center-in-the-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/26128\/","title":{"rendered":"Group including Arthur Ashe’s nephew wants to build $15M indoor tennis center in the city"},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\"second<\/a><\/p>\n

A rendering of some of the tennis courts at the planned facility. (City documents)<\/p>\n

A group that includes the owner of bowling alley River City Roll, a member of the Goodwin family and Arthur Ashe\u2019s nephew are looking to build a new tennis facility near the late tennis legend\u2019s namesake boulevard in Richmond.<\/p>\n

Second Serve RVA, a newly created nonprofit, has proposed an eight-court indoor tennis center at 650 S. Sheppard St. in the Byrd Park area, just off Arthur Ashe Boulevard.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Along with local businesspeople Rob Long and Kirsti Goodwin, Second Serve is also led by a few locals with ties to the game like Tom Vozenilek and Irv Cantor of the Richmond Tennis Association, and David Harris, Metro Richmond Tennis Club\u2019s executive director.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"david<\/a><\/p>\n

David Harris<\/p>\n

Harris was introduced to tennis by his late uncle, Arthur Ashe, and grew up playing at Battery Park before going on to play at the collegiate level for Virginia Union University. He said that the new facility proposed by Second Serve would be a way to introduce the sport to other kids in the city.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cUnfortunately there are some barriers to entry. Costs of tennis rackets, shoes, having to pay for lessons, etcetera. But this is an opportunity to say, \u2018Hey, we\u2019re going to lower those barriers to allow access to the youth,\u2019\u201d Harris said. \u201cThose that don\u2019t belong to a country club don\u2019t have anywhere to play indoors in the City of Richmond. It becomes difficult to be able to extend your playing season through the winter because tennis is a year-round sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

The project is estimated to cost between $15 million and $20 million, money that would be raised from private donors and foundations, Harris said. While he said he can\u2019t disclose the individuals and entities with whom the group has had preliminary discussions, he\u2019s confident they\u2019ll be able to raise the money needed to build the facility.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"second<\/a><\/p>\n

A site plan of the development.<\/p>\n

The center would generate revenue by being rented for tournaments, events and private instruction. Second Serve is planning to fundraise enough to cover the center\u2019s first three years of operational costs.<\/p>\n

In addition to the eight indoor courts, the center would also house the Black Tennis Hall of Fame, which has existed as an organization since 2007 but has never had a physical home.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Second Serve\u2019s facility would rise on a grassy area between Lois Harrison-Jones Elementary School and the 12-court Byrd Park outdoor tennis courts along Arthur Ashe Boulevard. The project site is currently owned by Richmond Public Schools and Second Serve is seeking to lease the land.<\/p>\n

Harris said the facility is part of a broader effort to reintroduce tennis at RPS. Second Serve\u2019s proposal\u00a0 includes resurfacing existing tennis courts at nine schools throughout the city, and Harris said the nonprofit would also offer courses for teachers to learn how to instruct the sport.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s one of the big components to it. We\u2019d renovate some of those courts, and we\u2019d train individuals on how to teach the sport,\u201d Harris said. \u201cThat would allow teachers to either teach (tennis) or have a tennis club or what have you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"second<\/a><\/p>\n

The site is currently a grassy area near the Carillon. (Mike Platania photo)<\/p>\n

Second Serve unveiled its plans at a Richmond City School Board meeting earlier this month, as first reported by The Richmonder, and was met with skepticism from some board members, including Stephanie Rizzi, whose district includes the Sheppard Street site. Rizzi expressed concerns at the meeting about how to value of the land RPS would be leasing out to Second Serve through a proposed long-term ground lease.<\/p>\n

While it\u2019s unclear how many acres the facility would span, the entire 10.5-acre parcel it\u2019s part of, which includes Lois Harrison-Jones Elementary School, was most recently assessed by the city at $12.6 million.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A third-party appraisal of the land\u2019s fair market value commissioned by RPS found that its highest and best use would be to subdivide it into single family detached lots. Based on that criteria and recent sales of single-family lots in the neighborhood, the appraisal found the land to be worth over $3.9 million per acre.<\/p>\n

Rizzi said she thinks there are still a lot of details to be worked out.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a complete no-brainer. We have to think about this in terms of what\u2019s going to be best for our district,\u201d Rizzi said at the board meeting.<\/p>\n

Harris, who was part of the 2019 effort to rename Boulevard to Arthur Ashe Boulevard, said he understands why the school board is skeptical.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand politics is very questionable of things that organizations want to do, and I respect that. It\u2019s their duty to do their due diligence and make sure that it\u2019s not just another opportunity to grab land from a governmental entity,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Harris also said he sees the project as a chance to build an athletics facility in the city that won\u2019t meet the same fate as the Arthur Ashe Athletic Center, the 72,000-square-foot facility near The Diamond that was built in the 1980s and included basketball courts and a track, but later fell into disrepair. It\u2019s now set to be demolished as part of the city\u2019s Diamond District project<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not here to repeat the mistakes of the past. We\u2019re here to do it the right way, because we\u2019ve seen the mistakes. We\u2019ve seen how Arthur Ashe Center went into disrepair and nobody wanted to repair the place,\u201d Harris said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is our opportunity to really get it right and have Richmond on the map for tennis again like it used to be in the seventies, eighties and early nineties,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Second Serve\u2019s presentation at the school board\u2019s July 7 meeting served as the group\u2019s public introduction of the proposal to the board.<\/p>\n

The nonprofit is now preparing to provide written responses to the school board\u2019s questions and concerns around the project. The matter is not yet listed on any future school board meeting agendas.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

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