by Holly Goddard

With the summer tennis season upon us, players are anxious to hit the courts at the John Drew Smith Tennis Center in Macon, GA. The newly refurbished electric blue 24-court complex received a much needed facelift just in time for one of the largest Adult League Championships in the Southeast. Before the renovation, very little work had been done on the courts that opened in 1980. The courts were showing signs of distress with visible cracks on the surface. In addition, poor drainage also contributed to their wear and tear.

John Drew Smith Tennis Center Director, Carl Hodge, and the Macon Tennis Association have worked diligently for months raising funds and drumming up community support to make their dream of having a premier tennis facility a reality. Since November the Macon Tennis Association has raised $65,000 to put with the $100,000 grant awarded from the USTA. The City of Macon and Bibb County came through with the remaining funds to ensure that the tennis center reached its budget of $700,000 for the renovation project.

“I’m looking forward to people coming in and getting excited about the new facility,” said Hodge. “We can get people to come from outside our community and bring fresh dollars and that helps us.”

Hodge is not the only one who is elated with the court improvements. Janice Marshall of the Macon-Bibb County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau says the improvements will meet the community’s goal of stimulating Macon’s economy.

“That’s the bottom line. We were in danger of losing some of these big tennis tournaments if we had not been able to repair these courts,” said Marshall.

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held Thursday at noon to rededicate the facility to the community. Mayor Ellis was on site to congratulate the Macon Tennis Association for their efforts in enhancing local tennis and the economy.

More than 1200 players will converge on Macon, GA today for one of the four major state league championships held at John Drew Smith Tennis Center this summer. The local economy will reap the benefits from hotel, restaurant and shopping revenue streams of the tournament participants. Marshall says the tennis center will generate an estimated $2.3 million in tourism dollars this summer.