An Ace on the Courts

Racketeers were out in force when the 50-year-old Las Positas Tennis Center at Elings Park reopened after 16 months of major improvements and renovations costing $3.2 million.

The tennis center project is part of a larger $10 million Elings Park infrastructure campaign of improvements for the 230-acre park, the largest privately funded public recreation area in the U.S., says Executive Director
Dean Noble.

“It is like a private club, but open to the public.”

Fundraising for the tennis club, which has 270 members, started in 2019. Elings Park took over management in 2011 from the City of Santa Barbara.

Local architect Joe Andrulaitis, a player himself, oversaw the renovations which included the bathrooms, new access to the six courts, stadium seating, parking lot improvements, landscaping, and security.

More landscaping is planned, costing around $700,000, in due course.

Among the tennis fans turning out, 109 of them who donated $2.8 million to the project were Marcia Constance, Sharon Bradford, and Bruce Giffin.