Tennis Team, Taxpayers Compete for Court

A tennis-mad Lower Merion Township seems to be outgrowing its supply of courts.

The school district has asked the municipal Board of Commissioners to extend the teams' use of , but the board is also fielding complaints about how frequently residents have lost court time to students in the spring and fall.

Construction at Harriton eliminated two of eight tennis courts, said Pat Guinnane, Lower Merion School District's director of operations, at Wednesday night's Board of Commissioners meeting. The teams have been practicing and playing matches on the four Gladwyne Park courts for a few years, an arrangement the district would like to make permanent.

The township and school district have for years sometimes used each other's fields, said Lindsay Taylor, director of the parks department.

Parks committee chaiman Commissioner Scott Zelov took residents' complaints to heart in addressing the district's request.

"The construction of facilities in the school district has caused a reduction and a hardship to residents," Zelov said. "The community was told (Harriton's use of Gladwyne Park) would be only temporary during construction, and now I understand this has changed."

Zelov urged Guinnane to consider seeking room on other courts, but Guinnane said his request for Gladwyne Park would stand: "If it gets turned down, we'd be happy to look for an alternative."

Commissioner Cheryl Gelber suggested a study to find more flat ground to build fields and courts. Added Commissioner Dan Bernheim: "It's quite obvious that demand is greater than supply."

Board President Liz Rogan told Guinnane, "I'm more inclined to have an open mind to share our facilities, since it's for the betterment of everyone," though she wondered why the teams would need all four courts at Gladwyne Park when they had lost only two at Harriton.

Guinnane replied that two would suffice for practice but that matches would require use of the whole facility.

The board took no action on the tennis court matter Wednesday night, and it was unclear when the matter would come up for a vote.