Evergreen Tennis owners object to proposed partnership

The owners of Evergreen Tennis are pushing back on a proposed partnership between the Camas School District and the United States Tennis Association Pacific Northwest organization.

Clark and Caryn Vitek own Evergreen Tennis, a four-court facility at 5225 N.W. 38th Ave. It’s about a 5-mile drive from Camas High School, which has eight outdoor tennis courts. The school district plans to enclose the high school’s courts in an all-season “bubble” and enter into a 30-year contract with USTA to run the courts. It’s a plan the Viteks believe is not in the best interest of the community and one that could shutter their 11-year-old business.

“Putting a public tennis center onto an existing high school campus has not been done before,” Clark Vitek said. “It’s not in the school’s best interest or the voters that approved facility bonds to convert school property to commercial use and give up control for the next 30 years while introducing traffic and safety concerns onto the school campus.”

The Camas school board approved the collaboration with USTA in July, after hearing that the national tennis organization wanted to invest $2 million to build a solid fabric bubble around Camas High’s tennis courts, resurface the courts with the same high-quality materials used in national tennis competitions, replace aging nets, upgrade the facility’s lighting, provide tennis lessons and other opportunities for younger Camas students, and operate a community tennis hub for paying members of the general public.

In return for USTA’s investments, the school district agreed to spend $1 million from its capital facilities fund to provide restrooms and a small lobby inside the tennis facility, as well as an upgraded parking lot that would provide a safe way to enter and exit the facility.

Jasen McEathron, the school district’s director of business services, said the USTA partnership opportunity came at the same time school district leaders were trying to figure out how to make the tennis courts more equitable for the girls tennis team.

“We have a problem with timing between the seasons, and the girls team had a disadvantage,” McEathron said.

USTA runs a similar program at the Vancouver Tennis Center, where the organization charges an annual membership fee of $129, plus a $29 initiation fee. Members can then make monthly court reservations at a cost of $24 a week for a 90-minute reservation.

For comparison, Evergreen Tennis charges an annual individual regular membership fee of $99, or $36 per month, per member. Members can then make 60- or 90-minute court time reservations at a cost of $44 per hour, according to its website.

Pavilion proposed

The Viteks, who said they went through an extensive permitting process with the city of Camas before opening their private tennis center in 2014, believe there is a less costly way to improve the courts and provide shelter from the rain.

“If the primary goal is to provide equity for playing opportunities between the girls and boys tennis seasons, we advocate for an alternative pavilion court cover providing weather protection over the outdoor courts,” the Viteks stated in a letter to the Camas school board.

Covering the courts with a pavilion would provide shelter from the rain and would not require the extensive permitting or parking lot reconfigurations needed for USTA’s bubble concept, the Viteks said.

The Evergreen Tennis business owners also question how well the bubble will serve spectators and student athletes waiting for their own matches.

“The pavilion would still allow parents to sit on the bleachers and watch from outside,” Caryn Vitek said.

McEathron said the district and USTA plan to have viewing areas inside the enclosed facility.