$750,000 OK’d to fix Beaufort tennis courts. Contrast with Hilton Head’s helped make case
Beaufort’s seven downtown tennis courts are getting overhauled, and the work can’t come soon enough for local tennis academy director Larry Scheper.
“I feel great about that, but they’ve been saying that for quite a long time,” Scheper said.
Work is expected to begin in October, said Chris Ophardt, a Beaufort County spokesman.
The $750,000 for the work is in the Beaufort County Parks and Recreation budget, part of the $132.6 million overall 2022 county budget approved by the County Council in June.
Beaufort County maintains public sports facilities located within communities.
The courts are located at 1105 Bladen St., off Boundary Street.
Phase 1 will be resurfacing the courts and installing new fencing, Ophardt said. Phase 2 will involve adding parking and redoing the lights.
Scheper, owner and director of Scheper Tennis Academy, said the courts are badly in need of repair and have been for a long time.
Besides cracks in the courts, fencing at the complex was installed 20 years ago, he said.
Scheper said a group of Beaufort tennis advocates took pictures of a nice public tennis complex on Hilton Head and submitted them, along with photos of Beaufort’s run-down courts, to make the case that Beaufort deserved the funding.
“We just love the community stepping up trying to get the courts fixed,” Scheper said. “We just want to be like everybody else.”
Scheper uses the courts daily for lessons and group cardio workouts for players of all abilities. He says the courts are an outlet for younger and older players.
“I can’t wait,” he said of the improvements.
