College financed professional tennis courts host big events for City of Prescott
When the City of Prescott wants money for a project it can’t afford, it knows the pocketbook of Yavapai Community College is always available. That was the case when it sought a new state-of-the-art professional tennis complex.
Prescott didn’t have anywhere near enough money for a professional tennis complex. In fact, the best it could muster was $25 thousand dollars. However, the Yavapai Community College administrators were contacted and with a little prodding, they decided to take around $1.3 million dollars of County taxpayer dollars from the College treasury and use it for the Professional complex. They built it, now operate the web site, hired a part-time employee for it, and maintain the complex, which is used mostly by Prescott residents. (The College does not have a tennis team.) The complex was completed in December, 2014 and is already pumping money into Prescott hotels, motels, restaurants and other businesses.
The first major event at the complex was the 2015 Prescott NTRP Memorial Tennis Tournament, which ran from Friday through Sunday, May 22-24,. It showcased 101 entries and 75 players participating in singles, doubles and mixed events for all ability levels and ages in 13 different divisions. The next tennis event is scheduled for Sunday, June 7: The Grand Prix Series. Many other events are planned.
When it comes to local development and where to get money, the folks in Prescott know exactly where to look. If the College is foolish enough to use County taxpayer money from the Verde Valley and elsewhere to fund local projects like a professional tennis complex, the folks in Prescott are smart enough to take the money and run with it.