Construction is set to start this spring on the new tennis courts at Centennial Park in Plymouth. On Tuesday, the Plymouth School Board approved the funding arrangements for the school corporation’s share in the cost of the project.
While the city had previously considered moving the tennis courts to a site less impacted by flooding, Superintendent Dan Tyree says the plans now call for them to be reconstructed at the current location, “They went through and got it taken out of the floodplain, and then they’re using a different kind of cement mix, which will hopefully keep things from cracking like the other courts did.”
The project has been estimated to cost a total of $1.5 million, with money coming from the city, the school corporation, and private donors. On Tuesday, the school board passed a resolution giving the city a total of $500,000 for the corporation’s share in the project. Half of that money was already set aside for the project two years ago, while the other half will come out of the corporation’s Rainy Day Fund.
In return, the corporation’s rent to the city for the use of park facilities will be discounted over the next 24 years, according to the terms of an updated contract with the city. Tyree says the money the corporation will save on those payments can then be used to replenish the Rainy Day Fund, “Several things happened out of this: Number one, we found a creative way to get the finance to be able to work with the park to put new tennis courts up. Secondly, we now have a contract with the park until 2040 to be able to use their baseball diamond, their softball diamond, and the tennis courts.”
He told board members that construction will start at the beginning of June, and the first half of the boys tennis season will be impacted by the work. John Glenn and NorthWood high schools have agreed to let Plymouth use their tennis facilities during construction.
Meanwhile, Tyree says work continues on improvements to the Plymouth High School football stadium. “The rain and snow put on there over break slowed things down, but we’re still not behind schedule, and we’re also pretty much on budget,” he says. “We’ve run into a couple things, like where the as-built drawings said where the water lines were, the water lines weren’t there, so when we went to bore in for these electric lines, we hit the water lines twice.”
NIPSCO was eventually able to bury the power lines, but the Internet line to the football stadium still needs to be placed underground. Construction crews are currently working on the footers for the new restrooms, entrance gate, and concession stand. After experiencing some challenges due to moisture in the ground, work on the pillars for the new bleachers is also moving ahead.
Additionally, the Plymouth Board of Zoning Appeals has approved a variance for the bleacher jersey. It’s a cover for the back and sides of the new bleachers that will hide the metal support structure with a specially-designed logo. Tyree told board members that because the bleacher jersey is technically considered a banner, a variance was required to allow it to be in place for more than 60 days.
