Atkins Tennis Center

The Atkins Tennis Center, constructed at a cost of $5.3 million, is located on the University of Illinois' south campus, just east of the baseball and track facilities. The convert|58000|sqft|m2|sing=on building houses 6 indoor courts, a pro-shop, men's and women's team locker rooms, separate public locker rooms, and offices for the Fighting Illini tennis coaches. Eight outdoor courts are located west of the building. All 14 courts are lighted and have a plexi-pave surface.

The Atkins Tennis Center was made possible by a $2.5 million donation from Clint and Susie Atkins of Champaign in 1987. Clint Atkins is a real-estate investor and co-founder of the Plastic Container Corporation of Champaign. Felmley-Dickerson General Contractors of Champaign oversaw the tennis facility project. Ken Nelson of Unteed, Nelson, Slack, Anderson Ltd. was the architect and C.P. Atkins, Clint's father, designed the steelwork for the building.

The Atkins Tennis Center was officially dedicated on November 2 1991, the date of the Atkins' wedding anniversary. The completion of the Tennis Center marked the beginning of a new era for tennis on the University of Illinois campus and in the community.

Voted 'Most Outstanding Facility in the U.S.' in 1992 by the USTA.

Home to Illinois Fighting Illini men's tennis.

Services to community

The Atkins Tennis Center provides a number of services to the Urbana and Champaign communities as well as University of Illinois students and staff. Programs include junior and adult clinics, men's and women's leagues, and group and private instruction. In addition, Atkins has a Pro Shop which carries many tennis related items.

Current Atkins staff

Jim Tressler, Delilah Lewis,Judy Okraj,Lelia Cehajic,Alex Voss,Sujay Kumar,Alex Chew,Stefan Budic,Andy Conrad,Jeremy Beach,Shaun Petterson,Robert Reynolds,Brad Stein,Evan Dorner,Spencer Skadden,Chelsea Beeler,Brain Zehr,Amelia Schmidt,Zainab Saqib,Uros Marjanovic,Annatjie Els,Phyillis Mcpherron,Giles Austin,Lindsey Hallett,Kevin Stayart,Libby Knight,Rakesh Gadde,Mack Madonick,Jimmy Peters,Mat Mathis,Micheal Powers

Court time

Both the indoor and outdoor courts at the Atkins Tennis Center are open for public use. Also, players must wear a non-marking, hard rubber sole shoe. Running shoes aren't allowed.

During the fall and spring semesters the University of Illinois men's and women's tennis teams have all courts reserved from 1:30 - 5:30 pm and one court from 6:00 am - 10:00 pm, Monday through Friday. Any court not needed by the teams for the following day may be reserved after 6:00 pm. If the teams are using outdoor courts, indoor courts may be reserved on the understanding that the teams may practice indoors should it rain.

Also, men's and women's matches or visiting team practices may override normally scheduled activities. All participants affected by conflicts will be given as much advance notice as possible and will not be billed for that time.

Source

(1)http://fightingillini.cstv.com/facilities/AtkinsTennisCenter.html