135-Court Tennis Center Planned For Roswell

ROSWELL, GA — The largest clay court tennis center in the nation could soon open up in Roswell. The Angela Krause Tennis, Pickleball and Fitness Center would be constructed on 60 acres of land in Big Creek Park along Old Alabama Road through a partnership in the city. The new, 135-court facility is expected to come up for consideration under a memorandum of understanding agreement at the City Council's Aug. 13 meeting.

If approved, the $60 to 70 million project would break ground in 2019, develop in three phases, and include more than 80 clay courts when finished, which is more than double the number of clay courts currently available at any location around the country. The facility would also feature traditional hard courts and grass courts, as well as a tournament-size, 24-court pickleball facility.

The tennis center project is being developed by Roswell residents Vernon and Marie Krause, in honor of their daughter, Angela Krause, who passed away at age 29 after battling ALK, a rare form of non-smokers lung cancer. She was diagnosed three days after giving birth to her son and passed away less than four months later in February 2015. Angela was an avid tennis player and member of UGA’s club tennis team.

“Creating this center to celebrate Angela’s life has been a deeply bittersweet, yet incredibly rewarding, labor of love for our entire family,” said Vernon Krause. “Angela’s warm smile, sense of humor, and love of life made her beloved by family and friends, and our hope is that everyone who enters the doors of this place will experience the type of warm welcome and inviting environment that will truly honor her memory.”

As they looked at potential locations for the tennis center, the family said Roswell made sense for several reasons, in addition to its personal connection to the city.

“We are grateful the Krause family chose Roswell and are honored to partner with them," said Roswell Mayor Lori Henry. "This is a wonderful example of the great things that can happen through a public-private partnership."

The Roswell area has more than 15,000 active tennis players within its boundaries. There are also more than 75,000 active players within a 10-mile radius of the city, making it one of the largest concentration of tennis players in the United States. Roswell is also centrally located within the U.S. Tennis Association’s Southern Section, which is the association’s largest region, boasting more than 50,000 members in metro Atlanta alone. ALTA is also the largest metro tennis league in the world with 80,000 members, and T-2 Tennis reports an estimated 60,000 tennis players in the metro region.

"The city of Roswell is at the absolute heart of one of the largest concentrations of active tennis players in the entire country, making it the perfect location for this project," said Gordon Smith, executive director & CEO of the United States Tennis Association. "This facility will not only serve the local tennis players and community members, but also will quickly become one of the most sought-after clay court venues in the U.S. for both national and international tennis tournaments and events."

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Roswell Inc, the city's economic development arm, estimates the center could bring roughly $30 to $50 million to Roswell each year through tournament play, while also serving as a catalyst for additional investment in the area.

“This is one of those projects that we will look back on in 10 years and be absolutely blown away by the positive impact it’s had on the community — both through its economic impact and through the way it will transform our city into a national and international destination,” said Steve Stroud, executive director of Roswell Inc.

Roswell goes on to state the development would strengthen the community and make the city an international destination. City residents would be able to use the facility and its courts for a special fee. Upon the center’s completion, while tournaments are hosted at the center, there would be a select number of courts reserved and set aside for residents to use, so their ability to use the facility is not interrupted.

“Not only are we thrilled about the benefits this will bring to our residents, we are excited about the sense of community pride this project will give to all of us in Roswell,” Mayor Henry added.

The center would be developed, owned, and operated by The Krause Family Foundation, with no financial or operational burden to the city. The Foundation would work with Danny Carlson, owner of Atlanta Tennis Inc. and founder of the Serve and Return Foundation, to manage the facility’s operations and programming.

The Krause Family and Danny Carlson worked with the city of Roswell, Roswell Inc, the Roswell Recreation Commission, and the U.S. Tennis Association to make this project happen.

While city leaders are praising the news, at least one group is planning to fight the proposal. The Roswell Alpharetta Mountain Bike Organization is calling on its members to show up at the Aug. 13 City Council meeting to hear the impact the proposed MOU would have on the existing hiking and biking trails at the park along Old Alabama Road.

The proposal, the organization contends, calls for 65 of the 95 acres of greenspace at the park to be replaced with the tennis courts.

"The impact could cause significant or total loss of hiking and biking trails at Big Creek Park," the organization said on its Facebook event created for the 7 p.m. meeting.

Rendering via city of Roswell