Warning, Warning. Tennis is addictive. Players travel all over the state of Florida and dump hundreds of dollars into the local economy to maintain the addiction. Whether it is through equipment, gas, fees, food, beer, hotels etc, it can cost a pretty penny.Dayton Beach: City officials propose cutting off the city's staff at the tennis center from eight to four in the next budget year. The facility brings a lot of tourism to the city through USTA. Daytona Beach is home of NASCAR and the LPGA, but also tennis, host of USTA's Florida Tennis Center. This is the final destination for players before nationals. The city is required to keep 24 clay courts, maintenance and staff. This past weekend 500 ment travelled from Gainesville, Miami, Tampa, Jacksonville, and so on to play in the Adult Sectional Tournament. The weekend was full of tennis, restaurants, Sports Authority and beer.
USTA moved from Pompano Beach seven years ago. The tennis association pays a 75K lease for the center and up to an additional 20K per year. The city has let the facility go with lack of maintenance and the everything is looking a little crapped up according to the USTA Executive Board. The center tried to sell last year losing many members. The center has not made money since it has opened. With a 1.2 million loan still unpaid from the beginning, cuts were made to compensate losses.
Hopefully the city can get funding straightened out because it booms the hotel business seasonally for the city. On a good tennis note, the city has budgeted a complete renewal of the courts for the upcoming year. Happy Tennis!
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