- November 5, 2024
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With the hopes of serving an ace, city officials are willing to give the Palm Coast Tennis Center one last chance.
Facing approximately a $120,000 deficit in this year’s budget, the City Council agreed in consensus Tuesday to retool the Tennis Center. The new plan includes implementing more programs, making more money and rebranding.
“I would say we have not been successful in that endeavor (of being profitable),” City Manager Jim Landon said.
The Palm Coast Tennis Center, which opened in 2007, is operated by Kemper Sports. Last year, the Tennis Center had a $140,000 deficit.
Rich Stanfield, general manager of the facility, said one of the main revamps to the center is to get rid of memberships and establish an annual pass.
This will help establish the facility as public and not private, and also “take away that cloud that’s hung over it,” Stanfield said.
Doug Barthel has taken over the day-to-day operations as the director of tennis. Barthel, a certified teaching professional for 26 years, has been tasked with driving up revenues.
A few ways Barthel said he plans to help make the Tennis Center profitable is by establishing increased play during non-peak hours — such as afternoon and evening play — and by reaching out to the younger generations in the Flagler County school system.
“Junior development is key,” Barthel said.
According to Landon, establishing programs and more play at the facility are incentives that will increase Barthel’s salary.
City Councilman Bill McGuire said he’s a believer in incentives, but that the facility is in a “turnaround situation.”
“There are a lot of taxpaying citizens who don’t play tennis and are tired of subsidizing a losing situation,” McGuire said.
According to Tuesday’s presentation, Kemper Sports would have the Tennis Center breaking even by the 2018-2019 budget year.
The plan is to change the perception of the Tennis Center, too.
“In my opinion, it has an image of being more of a country club setting and not open to the general public,” Landon said Tuesday.
Ricardo Catarino, regional director of operations for Kemper Sports, acknowledged the facility has faced several challenges over the past few years.
“It has all the potential in the world to be a premier facility in Palm Coast,” Catarino added.
City Councilman Jason DeLorenzo said toward the end of the meeting that he’d like to see progress “sooner rather than later.”
“Make it happen,” McGuire said as discussions concluded.
