Eureka High School’s eight tennis courts will have more “bounce” by the summer.
The courts’ surfaces are being replaced with a Pro Bounce system and work is expected to be completed by June, Rockwood director of facilities Chris Freund said.
Freund said the Pro Bounce system has a rock base beneath the playing court, and the playing surface is covered by a turf-like system that is hardened with a urethane product.
“So, it has a little cushion to it,” Freund said.
The Rockwood Board of Education voted unanimously March 4 to pay Vee-Jay Cement Contracting of Affton $1,193,350 for the work, which includes $75,000 for unforeseen conditions.
The board also approved hiring the same company to install the same new courts at Marquette High for $1,203,759, which also includes $75,000 for unforeseen conditions.
The projects are funded by money from a $95.5 million bond issue that voters approved in April 2017.
Eureka tennis coach Jason Conley said the new courts will benefit students in physical education classes and the tennis team.
“It’s hard to explain unless you play on them, but they are a little bit easier on your knees and ankles and hips, easier on your joints when you’re playing,” Conley said.
He said the courts were most recently completely overhauled at least 16 years ago.
“The courts we did have were kind of falling apart,” he said. “We needed an upgrade, and it’s going to benefit both our tennis teams and our classes.”
Conley said the courts were resurfaced about 10 years ago.
“There were so many cracks and problems with them that they weren’t even able to be resurfaced,” Conley said.
Conley said the boys tennis team, which plays in the spring, will practice at Lafayette High School and only play away matches. He also said next school year, both the boys and girls teams will be able to host tournaments and district matches.
“In the past, we were reluctant to host because our courts were a big issue,” Conley said.
Freund said work on the courts started March 8. He said the courts are expected to last 20 years.
“The big reason why we are doing it is because there was some significant cracking, which was starting to make (the courts) somewhat unusable,” Freund said.