FW_ Tennis in Boulder 12_RedactedFrom:Adams, Taishya
To:Rivera-Vandermyde, Nuria; Rhodes, Alison
Subject:FW: Tennis in Boulder
Date:Wednesday, May 15, 2024 8:41:10 PM
Is there an upcoming Parks and Rec study session? It would be helpful to have a public
discussion about demand versus supply.
In the interim, can you point me to the latest report on current park/rec services, costs, and
usage to inform that discussion?
We be many,
Taishya
Taishya Adams (she/her)
Councilmember, Boulder City Council
Resides on Ute, Arapaho, Cheyenne, and Shoshone Land
Let’s stay connected:
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Email request to access virtual meeting calendar
From:
Sent: Wednesday, May 15, 2024 11:05 AM
To: Brockett, Aaron <BrockettA@bouldercolorado.gov>; Adams, Taishya
<adamst@bouldercolorado.gov>; Benjamin, Matthew <benjaminm@bouldercolorado.gov>;
Folkerts, Lauren <folkertsl@bouldercolorado.gov>; Marquis, Tina <marquist@bouldercolorado.gov>;
Schuchard, Ryan <schuchardr@bouldercolorado.gov>; Speer, Nicole
<speern@bouldercolorado.gov>; Wallach, Mark <wallachm@bouldercolorado.gov>; Winer, Tara
<winert@bouldercolorado.gov>; courts@bouldertennis.org
Subject: Tennis in Boulder
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We are members of the tennis community. We are writing to plead for help and for you to
listen to what’s really going on. Boulder prides itself on equity and access, but now we're
becoming a country club town where only the privileged can participate.
For years, Parks and Rec has said it is on top of the collapse of the supply of tennis
courts. More than two dozen are going away. This will be the first winter in decades with
no publicly-accessible winter tennis. Seniors and families are left out in the cold.
Wheelchair tennis has no home. The tennis community in Boulder, filled with families,
children, parents and hardworking taxpayers, is being disenfranchised.
We have begged, pleaded and warned Parks and Rec. We've gotten lip service. Our
efforts to reach Parks and Rec go back many years. More than 18 months ago, on Nov.
11, 2022, Parks and Rec Director Ali Rhodes told the city council that she was in talks
with local partners to work on a solution. She said:
“I have had multiple meetings in the last six months, probably, with folks at RMTC, with
folks at Coburn Development, who are the developers at the Millennium, with folks at
the Boulder Tennis Association and the newly formed BOCO Pickleball Club. We have
told all of them we are interested in this conversation, that we would love to determine if
and how we should partner on a racquet facility in Boulder.”
That was 18 months ago. No action has taken place. AND that very month, the city got
its wish to annex the tennis courts at CU South, eliminating another 12 courts at the end
of this year. Added to the loss of 15 courts at RMTC, we are losing 27 courts in the span
of a year.
The answer of Parks and Rec? It says it will add a net of three new courts at East Boulder
Rec Center in the next few years, with NO winter courts. There is talk of plans at Valmont
Park more than 5 years from now. Talks, exploration, words, inaction. When community
members ask for action, they get crocodile tears and condescension that we don't
understand the process, or how long it takes. This is so unfair, even mean, given that
Parks and Rec has known for years this was coming. It has already been a long time!
Now, the crisis moment is here. There will be no publicly-available tennis next winter.
CU Women have no home. Wheelchair tennis has no home. Seniors and families will
not have the recreation for many, many years because Parks and Rec and the City of
Boulder decided not to act and continues to study and delay. Are we to be the home
where only the country club members participate in recreation?
We ask this: demand action from Parks and Rec. Do not accept empty promises as we
have now realized that’s what we’re being given. We no longer will accept these
promises. You have our full attention. It’s time to stop stringing us along.
Sincerely,