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.

“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.

“There is typically space on the ends, and we’ve looked into potentially having a viewing area in the middle,” McEathron said. “We haven’t settled on an actual design yet because we’re still in the preliminary stage and have to get a conditional use permit.”

Traffic impacts

The Viteks contend that the school district’s traffic study has not fully captured the number of vehicle trips per day the tennis facility would generate given that McEathron has said the general public would be able to use the tennis facility during school hours if not in use by students.

“The high school campus is very busy in the morning and afternoon, with peak traffic periods around 8 a.m. and 3 p.m.,” McEathron said. “It’s important to us that the tennis center does not operate during those peak periods.”

The Viteks also question USTA’s data on the need for more year-round tennis courts in Clark County.

“Our courts are not 100 percent full, and we have room to add two more courts if ever there was demand for it,” Clark Vitek said. “The Camas population simply cannot support 12 indoor courts. There will be too many indoor courts instantly once this project is completed.”