BTA on mission to raise $2M to expand tennis complex

The Brandon Tennis Association officially served notice on Monday that it is ready for its next big match.

Association leaders, city officials and supporters gathered at the Brandon Tennis Complex for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to kick off a $2 million capital campaign that will fund the addition of four new tennis courts, expanded spectator seating, shaded viewing areas and improvements to the existing facility.

“It’s the kickoff to our campaign for the community,” said BTA Executive Director AJ Menden. “We’re roughly about $100,000 donated already, but the big push starts now.”

The expansion comes as participation in tennis continues to surge locally.

Menden said tennis participation nationally has grown 54 percent since 2019, while Brandon’s programs have exploded by 116 percent since 2020.

“We need to add four more courts to keep up with the school program and the community and pickleball,” he said. “Everyone keeps asking if we’re working with pickleball. We are. We’ll paint pickleball lines on a few of the courts because that’s growing, too, and they need courts.”
This summer alone, approximately 230 youth participated in Brandon’s summer tennis program.

“We had a lot of kids,” Menden said. “Some of the groups would have been nice to split into more groups, but with the court size we just can’t split up too much.”

The additional courts will allow Brandon to host more entry-level tournaments, offer Special Olympics and Unified tennis clinics, and free up courts for public use while organized programs are taking place.

“When our teams play or when our recreation programs are going on, we have no extra courts right now,” Menden said. “This will allow us to bring in more tournaments and more programming while still leaving courts open for the community.”

The project also focuses on improving the experience for spectators and players.

Plans include more than doubling the shaded spectator seating, adding shade structures for players, resurfacing all existing courts and lowering portions of the fencing to improve viewing.

“Right now, we have two trees that provide shade for spectators,” Menden said. “People are sitting in the grass where the shade is. The courts can be about 110 degrees during the heart of summer, so we’re thinking about both the players’ experience and the spectators.”

Menden said the complex has reached its capacity.

“Brandon has really no other places to put courts without spending a lot more money and moving away from everything else,” he said.

The expansion will also benefit Brandon Valley High and Middle Schools’ rapidly growing tennis program.

“We’re the second-largest team in the state because of our middle school program,” Menden said. “But the middle school is spread across two different courts, and they’re 10 deep. They can’t spread out to really get the skill building they need.”

Former BTA leader Becky Blue, who helped spearhead fundraising efforts nearly 20 years ago to build four courts and the tennis center with Tracie Rolfs, said it was rewarding to see the next generation carrying the torch.

“I’m so proud of these guys,” Blue said. “When Tracie and I did this 20 years ago, there were 3,000 K-12 students. Today there’s 5,200. It makes sense that you would add four more courts. I just love seeing the kids out here hitting. It’s still a great sport.”

The BTA was the first of Brandon’s youth sports organizations to take the lead on building a facility for their program.

“As the mayor reminded me, we were kind of the first parent-led organization that collaborated with the city, the school and the association to improve facilities,” she said. “After us came baseball, soccer and hockey.”

Her advice to the current fundraising committee is simple: “Just keep telling the story,” Blue said. “Do it for these kids and for the next kids.”

Brandon Mayor Harry Buck praised the BTA for once again taking the lead in enhancing community recreation.

“The tennis association has just been terrific,” Buck said. “Back in 2007, Becky Blue came to the city council with this dream of building this tennis complex. They went out and raised the money, and because of their success, the baseball association got active, then soccer and hockey. What started right here with the tennis group has really spread.”

Buck said the partnerships between volunteer organizations, the city and the school district have played a major role in Brandon’s growth.

“The city owes them a debt,” he said. “All the associations that have stepped up to do the fundraising and build these facilities have helped make Brandon a great place to live.”

Menden said the hope is to break ground on the expansion in late spring or early summer of 2027, with construction completed in spring 2028. Menden said every contribution, regardless of size, will help move the project toward its goal.

“We need all levels of donations to get to our $2 million campaign as quickly as possible,” he said.