The City of Ripon Department of Planning and Economic Development recently received a request to construct 12 tennis courts along with a parking lot at the Mistlin Sports Park.
The project referral is the dream of Love-Love Ripon, a non-profit organization with the main objective of elevating the sport with the proposed facility while “ensuring the opportunity for everyone to learn and play tennis, develop skills, and offer USTA tournaments (and) making Ripon the epicenter for tennis,” Love-Love Ripon said via social media.
Plans call for the construction of the tennis facility to be built at 1210 E. Clinton South Ave., with work scheduled to be conducted in phases.
Included will be a restroom building, two new driveway approaches off of Clinton South Avenue, 12 tennis courts with fencing and lighting, a 194-stall parking lot with lighting, drive aisles for connection to the existing parking lots, and interior access roads, storm water retention and landscaping.
In addition, an existing home and outbuildings on the project site will be demolished.
The project is scheduled to go before the Ripon Planning Commission at the May 20 meeting.
The complex not only would benefit the growing tennis community in Ripon, but could eventually be a regional tennis tournament center for the Northern California United States Tennis Association (USTA).
The closest venues with enough courts to host a regional tournament are Oak Park in Stockton with two less courts than envisioned in Ripon as well as those west of the Altamont Pass.
Ripon is centrally located to take advantage of the rapid growth of South County San Joaquin County as well as Stanislaus County.
Not only would that draw people from Tracy, Manteca, Lathrop, Mountain House, Stockton, and Modesto to community clinics and tournaments, but regional level competition drawing on players from throughout the north state is a strong possibility.
As such it could mimic the success Manteca has enjoyed with the Big League Dreams sports complex as well as the Woodward Park lighted soccer complex.
That means it would help fill Ripon hotel rooms, generate room tax for the city, and boost spending in local restaurants.
