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Ole Miss Tennis Center To Receive Major Improvements
July 7, 2011
OXFORD, Miss. -- The Ole Miss men's and women's tennis teams are about to get a boost with the renovation/expansion of the Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center currently underway. Renovations to the tennis center, which opened in 1990 in the heart of campus, include reconfiguring the existing building and adding an additional wing on each end. "Twenty years ago this was a state-of-the art facility," head men's coach Billy Chadwick said. During this time, college tennis has experienced tremendous growth. This expansion will benefit the student-athletes with the addition of team meeting rooms, study areas and new locker rooms." Once completed, the current building will house head coaches' offices (men and women), assistant coaches' offices (men and women) a stringing room, and visitors' locker rooms. The existing building will be expanded to include a wing on each end which will house a team locker room and meeting area (one for men and one for women). Fans will be able to walk from the (current) stands on top of the building on a walkway to the top of each of the wings. There will be a covered area with a canvas awning. The courts themselves have received a new state-of-the-art scoreboard as well as individual electronic scoreboards on each court. Additional plans include new fencing, resurfacing the courts, refurbishing the pavilions and adding the technology to live stream all home matches with cameras on each court. The Ole Miss men's tennis team ranked among the nation's attendance leaders for the fourth consecutive year, finishing fifth in total attendance and second in average attendance. The addition of the covered areas up top will allow for more fans to view the exciting action. "We have proven that Ole Miss can compete on a national level, winning NCAA and SEC Championships in the sport of tennis. This addition will help ensure the tradition continues," Chadwick said. "The Palmer/Salloum Tennis Center is such a unique venue with an amazing location right in the center of campus," head women's coach Mark Beyers said." "This renovation/expansion will provide our student-athletes some of the nation's finest facilities in that unique setting." The tennis center, which has hosted numerous NCAA Regionals, will serve as host to the 2012 SEC Women's Tennis Tournament. |
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