With the Dallas Cowboys and National Soccer Hall of Fame in Frisco, another Collin County city is carving out a niche in the sports world through tennis.
The city of McKinney is expanding its public tennis court facility, adding 12 new outdoor courts on top of the 11 that opened in 2012.
Once the $9 million outdoor expansion is finished in the next six-to-eight weeks, the city hopes to move forward with plans for a new facility with six indoor courts.
"It is going to be the nicest municipal center in Texas," said Matt Hanlin of Lifetime Tennis, which manages the Courts of McKinney.
"If you go to many, especially public tennis centers, the courts are in one long run and not very pretty. If you come here, the courts are in two core pods. So you’ve got a very private field when you play. You don’t have to worry about balls rolling six courts deep," said Hanlin.
The planned addition of indoor courts will enable the city to bid on larger, national tournaments, according to McKinney Director of Parks and Recreation Michael Kowski.
"The tennis world is unique in that people travel to play tournaments. We would love to be a home base for people to come in and play," said Kowski.
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"The big tournaments require courts, but also indoor courts. We're fortunate to be planning an indoor facility that will allow us to play even in rain-outs," Kowski added.
The courts will also accommodate cricket games and pickleball.
"With different people moving to this area of Texas, they're definitely bringing all types of sports," Kowski explained. "Our mission is to accommodate all those sports, all those users, so everyone has an opportunity to play in our parks."
