2007 HCTP Annual Report

2007 HCTP Annual Report to
the Howard County Tennis Community

Howard County Tennis Patrons (HCTP) is a nonprofit corporation formed in 2004 to promote the growth of tennis in Howard County and is committed to building a major regional tennis training center. We made much progress in 2006 and 2007 and would like to share our accomplishments as well as our plans for 2008:

1. Commissioned a feasibility study by Brailsford and Dunlavey, a national sports consulting firm, which documented the need for, and financial feasibility of, additional lighted and indoor tennis courts in Howard County.
2. Became registered as a charitable organization.
3. Hired Millane & Associates to guide us through the financing of a tennis facility.
4. Secured preliminary approval of the Howard County Recreation and Parks Department to negotiate a ground lease for a proposed tennis facility at Troy Park in eastern Howard County.
5. Held three public meetings and several individual meetings with County officials to raise awareness and garner support for a Troy Park Tennis Center.
6. Grew the HCTP Board to eight people (Lynn Coddington, Art Tollick, Dave Burnell, Charles Brown, Lemont Joyner, Suzan Lumpkin, Kim Barnes and Karen Vaughn) and elected Art Tollick as the new President, Lynn Coddington as Vice President and Dave Burnell as Treasurer.
7. Raised $40,000 to fund expenses including $25,000 from a USTA grant and about $16,000 from community donations.
8. Secured partnership pledges from Howard Community College and UMBC.
9. Built a database of 600 tennis players
10. Retained Miles and Stockbridge as Legal Counsel.
11. Began to identify a Civil Engineer and Architect with whom to work.

We have aggressive plans for 2008, which we hope will lead to construction of the Tennis Center in 2009. These include:

1. Completing a comprehensive Business Plan.
2. Securing support of the Greater Elkridge Community Association.
3. Negotiating and executing a ground lease for Troy Park with Howard County.
4. Identifying Business Partners, Grants, and large Donors.
5. Continuing community fundraising to cover short-term expenses.
6. Securing a $150K line of credit to complete engineering and architectural studies, County negotiations, and bring the project to a point that it can be sold to large Donors and Bond Underwriters.
7. Engaging an Accountant, Civil Engineer, Architect, and perhaps a Developer.
8. Securing $13.5 million in donations, sponsorships and bond financing.
9. Growing our Board (Dave Marshall, Director of Tennis at Sea Colony, joined our Board on Jan 17, 2008) and doubling our database.

We appreciate all of your support and suggestions. If you can help us with any of our 2008 goals, please let us know.

Art Tollick,
HCTP President
tollick@comcast.net

Troy Park CONCEPT MEETING

November 14th, 2007
Charlie and Linda Brown’s house

Howard County Tennis Patrons held an informal meeting to let interested tennis players know where the project to build a regional tennis center at Troy Park stands and where it is going.

Attendees: Art Tollick, Dave Burnell, Jon Smith, Suzan Lumpkin, Kim Barnes, Bill Mueller, Doug Brooks, Patti Reynolds, Ken Lundeen, Garth Finney, Chuck Morgan, Wren Morgan, Sally Longinotti, Linda Brown, Joe Beitz, and Kalyna Nedilsky,

Topics discussed:

Art Tollick, the newly elected President of HCTP, reviewed USTA player data….the amount of players by county, types of players, frequency of play. Art also reviewed a chart showing the suggested amount of courts per citizen, according to USTA. The data demonstrates a shortage of courts, especially lighted and indoor courts in Howard County.

Art discussed the possible relationship with Howard County allowing the Patrons to lease land at Troy Park at nominal cost. Time frame could be 2009.

There is a need to recruit people, services, money, etc. The initial push is for more emails and accurate emails. Suzan Lumpkin has volunteered to be Volunteer Coordinator and handed out an information package.

The County has asked that the Patrons meet with the Greater Elkridge Community Association. That meeting is scheduled for Thursday, November 15th.

Potential logos were distributed for input. Business cards were also previewed.

HCTP is asking for people to donate $100 each to further the development of the project.

About 50 people have contributed so far, and two donors (Hugh Cole and an anonymous party) have pledged to match contributions received during October and November. Total raised so far exceeds $10,000.

The proposed 25 tennis court layout was reviewed, but it is preliminary as court quantity and type may change. Tentative plans to finance the project through tax-free bonds were also discussed.

UMBC has written a letter and seems eager to participate with programs that will help produce income during lower utilized day hours. HCC has expressed similar interest.

Doug Brooks suggested asking USTA if it is possible to add a surcharge when signing up for leagues. Several attendees expressed interest in wanting to become more involved.

Greater Elkridge Community Association Meeting

GECA Meeting
November 15th, 2007
Norbell School, Elkridge, MD

Howard County Tennis Patrons met with the Greater Elkridge Community Association to discuss their proposal to build a tennis center at Troy Park. The meeting was attended by about 50 Elkridge residents, Courtney Watson (the local delegate), and Board members Art Tollick, Dave Burnell and Lynn Coddington, and tennis supporters Grace Kubofcik, Suzan Lumpkin and LeMont Joyner.

Howard County Recreation and Parks Director, Gary Arthur, first presented the County overall vision for a new 118-acre regional park at Troy Hill in Elkridge. He described access, parking, planned restoration for the Troy Hill Mansion, and plans for multiple types of ball fields. He said because of other projects, the Park would probably not get funded until 2011 or 2012. He then stated that the Recreation and Parks Board recently recommended proceeding to developing a long-term lease for 12-15 acres to HCTP to a build tennis center at the Park. He said that the lease would yet have to be approved by the County Executive and Council, but they hoped that HCTP’s development of the site in 2009 would allow the County to initiate construction of some ball fields earlier than would otherwise be possible.

Art Tollick and Lynn Coddington then described the HCTP vision for the Tennis Center. Art showed data demonstrating the need for additional courts in Howard County, and preliminary drawings of the proposed 25-court layout. Lynn described USTA’s existing tennis program at Elkridge Landing Middle School and the vision to expand youth programs through the Center.

Much discussion followed, much of it very favorable. Local tennis players expressed concern over the scarcity of tennis courts in the eastern part of the County. Some residents expressed strong concern that construction of a park on that site might preclude building a high school there someday. But Gary Arthur reiterated that the site was designated for parkland, not a school site and in fact could not be redirected for any purpose other than parkland under the terms by which Howard County was given the land by the State and Federal Governments. Courtney Watson said concerns about a high school needed to be addressed to the School Board. Representatives from the Elkridge Youth Organization (EYO) expressed interested in potentially partnering with HCTP in developing youth sports programs.

Fund Raising

We are raising funds to create architectural drawings, complete our negotiations with the County, and secure bond financing. We are asking you to donate $100 to HCTP not only to raise funds, but to demonstrate the tennis community's support for this project. If at least 400 tennis supporters contribute, we will raise the $40,000 we need for the next phase and provide an overwhelming argument to the Howard County Council that the tennis community supports the need for additional tennis courts.

Because HCTP is a 501(c)(3) corporation and registered with the state as a charitable organization, your contribution is tax-deductible. Additionally, we are excited to announce that certain key supporters have agreed to match any donations received by November 1, 2007. Therefore, every dollar you donate will give us two dollars to make the Troy Park Regional Tennis Center become a reality.

We believe with your help we can make this happen. Please make your check payable to HCTP and mail it to:

Howard County Tennis Patrons
8835-P Columbia 100 Parkway
Columbia, MD 21045

Board meeting big success --- results in preliminary approval

We had a large enthusiastic turnout for the September 19th board meeting which resulted in preliminary approval ---- click on the image to the right to see the board's letter.

We are gathering momentum with support from both the local community and the Howard County government. Thank you to all the people who showed up and demonstrated the wide base of support.

Come support us - September 19, 7:30 at Howard County Parks and Recreation

HCTP will present its findings to the Howard County Recreation and Parks Advisory Board.

The Board meeting will be held at 7:30 P.M. in Conference Room C of the Howard County Dept. of Recreation & Parks, 7120 Oakland Mills Road, Columbia, MD 21046. Public attendance in support of more courts can have significant impact, so we are asking supporters to attend - and bring your tennis racket. A room packed with racket toting residents at a similar Montgomery County Board meeting sparked the media coverage and momentum that led to the renovation of Wheaton Regional Park’s tennis facilities.

UMBC Letter of Support

Dear Art,

Our Athletics Department is very excited about the possibility of a high level tennis center at the proposed Troy Park site. UMBC is situated in Catonsville and is adjacent to exit 47 on Interstate 95 just one exit north of Route 100 and the site.

UMBC’s Tennis Program is multifaceted with Men’s and Women’s NCAA Division I varsity tennis, a club team, physical education classes, as well as a strong recreation program of students and faculty. With only six outdoor courts on our campus, we have been, for a long time, searching for an appropriate site to expand our offerings.

We’ve had a strong positive relationship with Piney Orchard Ice Hockey rink for our Club Ice Hockey Team and Physical Education Program. We have developed a win-win situation and would be looking to do even more with the sport of tennis at Troy Park.

Our Varsity Program is tops in the America East Conference and needs an indoor “home” as well as outdoor courts to run tournaments/invitationals. Our Club Team is huge and cannot be totally accommodated on campus. “Off Hour” time to offer classes would also be helpful as two courses in physical education are required for graduation.

Of course, we believe this would help the revenue stream necessary for the tennis center. Tournaments would also generate dollars for the local community (i.e., hotels, restaurants). The possibility of our expertise and assistance with camps and clinics also sounds very attractive to us. Finally, many of our more than 2,000 employees are excited about the possibility of expanding their tennis experience. UMBC is a rising star in the University System of Maryland.

On all counts, UMBC Athletics supports the development of the Troy Park Tennis Center. We would expect to make a financial commitment to add to the annual revenue stream of the center. Tennis is a major lifetime sport that deserves high quality facilities. Howard County is the perfect site in the State of Maryland.

Sincerely,

Dr. Charles Brown

Director of Athletics and Physical Education

New HCTP board members

HCTP has expanded and strengthened it's board with three highly successful local executives and tennis affectionados. Joining the current board of Hugh Cole, Lynn Coddington and Art Tollick we are pleased to welcome the following new board members:

Dr. Charles Brown, UMBC Director of Athletics since September 1989 where he Achieved 38 league championships. Charlie Served two terms as president of the Maryland Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics.

Dr. David Burnell is a PhD physicist whose day job is advanced design of integrated circuits for a local company in Columbia. David's passion and avocation is tennis -- he is both an active player and strong advocate of local programs.

Qualifying Developers and Underwriters

With help from Millane Partners HCTP now has a sanctioned road map for the upcoming public/private transaction to build the Troy Park facility. We are now in the process of qualifying suitable developers and experienced underwriters. There are three development companies with which we have had discussions.

Concept Paper

Troy Park 25-Court Regional Tennis Centre

A Proposal by the
Howard County Tennis Patrons, Inc.

The Troy Park Tennis Center will be a park and recreation agency model for the entire state of Maryland for grassroots community tennis development, for youth tennis development, for training recreational tennis coaches and to showcase the sport of tennis.

Our vision is to enter into a public-private partnership with the Howard County government to develop and sustain a premier USTA-quality tennis center for the benefit of all residents of Howard and the surrounding counties. A public-private partnership is defined as a contractual agreement to achieve a public purpose by the sharing of resources, risks, responsibilities, and rewards.

The Howard County Tennis Patrons, Inc. proposes to lease, design-build, and operate the facility under the agreement. The Tennis Patrons would partially fund the design and construction of the facility and subsequently operate and maintain the tennis center. Howard County would lease the land for this purpose. Matching funds would be sought through state and local government bonds, public grants, and private funds.

Proposed Facility

• 8 indoor hard surface tennis courts
• 16 outdoor hard and soft surface tennis courts, lighted
• 1 “championship” hard surface court
• 7,500 sq. ft. headquarters for the USTA state office, including offices; conference room; in-house storage for tennis balls, racquets, and other equipment
• Facility clubhouse, including administrative office(s); reception and court viewing area; lounge with food/beverages; player locker rooms; tennis shop; public restrooms; parking.

Proposed Location and Service area

• Howard County-owned land known as Troy Park, bounded on the east by Rte. 1, on the west by I-95, on the south by Rte 100. Parkland is approximately 100 acres. The tennis facility would be limited to approximately 20 acres.
• Howard County, southern Baltimore County, city of Baltimore, western Anne Arundel County, northern Prince George’s County, eastern Carroll County, Montgomery County.

Facility Description

• The wheelchair accessible 25-court facility will consist of 8 indoor and 16 outdoor courts and a championship court for featured matches. The facility will meet all USTA court requirements to host professional tennis and USTA tennis events. The complex will anchor additional recreational facilities the County envisions at Troy Park to meet the needs of the Rte. 1 Corridor community and eastern Howard County residents.

For more information, contact HCTP at 410 730-4087

Howard Community College

Talked with Joan Millane of Millane Partners, who has been engaged by Howard Community College (HCC)to create an RFP for creating a public/private partnership to build a tennis facility. She said the College was envisioning having a private partner building a small 4-6 court indoor facility in exchange for College land. I suggested there might be an advantage to partnering with HCTP and sharing a facility offsite at Troy Park. She said she would broaden the language of the RFP to allow for an off-site facility, but the College does not have the budget to provide any funds to such a project. She expressed concern that a small facility on campus might not be financially viable, particularly if Troy Park were built. In any event, she will send us a copy of the RFP to which to respond. I believe having HCC as a partner would increase our standing with sponsors.

Art Tollick

'Management Structure and Philosophy'

I have made an addition to 'Docs to Review' entitled 'Management Structure and Philosophy'. It address the management strategy to achieve and maintain our Vision Statement. Although controversial we need the right management structure to give substance and credibility to our vision. We need to iterate and hone this to get it right.