Brooklyn's Progress
August/September 2005

There’s never a need to ask “Tennis anyone?” at the Prospect Park Tennis Center. From early morning until midnight, the Center’s courts are filled with avid players of all ages.  They come to play on pro-grade surfaces and take lessons from a roster of expert tennis pros from around the world. 

A highlight of the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Golf and Tennis Classic on July 11 was the assistance of Prospect Park Tennis Center Director, Paul Campbell and tennis pro Edmond Plass who offered tennis tips and facilitated match play for the participants. 

The Prospect Park Tennis Center places special emphasis on recreational programming for youth. In the Junior Development summer program, kids aged five and up can participate in full-week, half-day or daylong sessions. They enjoy personalized attention from patient instructors and lots of play.  In the indoor season, the Junior Development Program features group lessons after school and all day Saturday. There is also match play. Scholarships to the Program are awarded based on merit and need.

Thanks to generous sponsorship from Independence Community Bank, aspiring tennis stars get to test their skills by playing in USTA Junior Tournaments held at the Center. Adult Group Classes are offered throughout the week and the Center’s pros are also available for private and semi-private lessons.  Two Deco Turf hard courts, the official surface of the USTA, are especially suitable for beginners and USTA tournament training.

Spectators can watch the fast-paced action from comfortable bleachers.  The courts are open-air in warm weather months and protected under a bubble during the winter.  Best of all, the action continues on five of the courts even when the sun goes down thanks to state-of-the-art night lighting.

“The quality of the courts and the lighting are really a few cuts above what one would expect in a public park,” says Prospect Park Tennis Center Director, Paul Campbell.  “And that’s great because our pros – like Paul Curtin, who heads the Junior Development Program – are really passionate about providing the kids and the public with the best tennis playing experience they can have.”

The Prospect Park Tennis Center is administered by the Prospect Park Alliance as part of a 15-year concessions contract with the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation.  Over the last two years the Alliance has invested nearly $3 million to upgrade the Tennis Center facilities.  A brand new Tennis Center Clubhouse is currently under construction and is expected to open this year.

The Center is open daily, 7 a.m. until midnight. From mid-May through October, Parks Department issued Tennis Permits are honored for court time during the day.  Outdoor evening court rates are $30 per hour, 7 days a week. Indoor rates vary with special discounts for daytime and Friday evenings. Call 718-436-2500 for more information or visit http://www.prospectpark.org/.  For information on Tennis Permits, call 718-965-8914.

The Center is located at the Parade Ground, which recently received a Brooklyn Chamber Building Brooklyn Award in the Parks and Open Spaces category, on the corner of Coney Island and Parkside Avenues (Park Circle). Street parking is available on Parkside Ave. 

To support the Prospect Park Junior Development Tennis Fund contact Paul Campbell at 718-965-8988.