SOUTHINGTON, CT — With school starting at Southington High School next week, school officials are hoping to address the school’s decaying public tennis courts.
Home to SHS’ boys and girls tennis squads, two of the seven courts at the school are considered unplayable, according to Southington Superintendent of Schools Steven Madancy.
Madancy and the Southington Board of Education spent much of the board’s last meeting Aug. 8 discussing the situation.
Find out what's happening in Southingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Though the school board didn’t officially vote, it agreed by consensus that Mandancy should should work with town officials to try and find funding to renovate the courts, which are also used by the general public.
Meanwhile, school officials are mulling options on where the SHS tennis teams can play when and if the home courts are closed for repairs.
Find out what's happening in Southingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
While the plan tentatively calls for the courts to be replaced in 2026-27, Madancy said the situation may be more acute.
He said the problem isn’t with the surface of the hard courts, but the area below the surface, which is unstable and leads to cracks.
“As the subsurface continues to shift over time, it gets more difficult to repair,” Madancy told board members. “The temporary solutions are no longer a feasible or logical option.”
The courts, he said, also have other issues, including the fact the dimensions are not up to par with United States Tennis Association standards and a lack of handicap-accessible seating for spectators.
If improved, SHS’ tennis courts would mark the final project in a multi-faceted effort to improve all of SHS’ athletics facilities.
“Piece by piece, we have been working on a complete overhaul of the athletic facilities based on our physical means and priority, liability, safety,” Madancy said.
Among projects already completed at SHS are softball lighting and dugouts with a new track at SHS expected to be done by Sept. 15.
In addition, he said, there is a two-year improvement program to renovate SHS stadium bleachers.
For the minutes of the Aug. 8 Southington Board of Education meeting, click on this link.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
Click Here: Dani Carvajal jersey sale