On Sunday, a crew from Mid-American Courtworks of Wichita arrived in Great Bend to begin the process of resurfacing the tennis courts in Veterans Memorial Park.  

“This project is the result of a united effort by the Great Bend Recreation Commission, City of Great Bend, USD 428 and Barton Community College to move forward with needed tennis court improvements,” said Diann Henderson, executive director of the Great Bend Recreation Commission.

In addition to seeing use by the public, the courts are utilized for Great Bend Rec’s tennis programs and tournaments; the school district’s team practices, matches and tournaments; and Barton Community College tournaments. After all of the entities agreed to share the cost of this project, the Recreation Commission Board approved the bid from Mid-American Courtworks to repair and resurface eight courts for $48,668 and to reinforce the expansion joints on the courts.

Henderson noted that additional work to the courts will also include replacement of the tennis nets. In addition, new benches will be provided by the Great Bend Kiwanis Club.  

Mid-America Courtworks is a contractor member of the American Sports Builders Association. They have a certified ASBA Tennis Court Builder on staff that will be heading up this project. This company has an extensive reference list, including Maize Middle School, which was selected as one of the 2007 Facilities of The Year by ASBA, and Goddard High School, which was selected as the 2011 Court of the Year by ASBA. The company also constructed six indoor and six outdoor courts for the Kansas University Tennis Center, which was selected by the Missouri  Valley Tennis Association facility of the year.