“They’re not sitting at home playing video games, they learn a skill, they get to think, because you got to think and they’re not just sitting there plotting what’s the next big adventure we can get into friends.”īecause of the pandemic, many community centers and recreational centers have had to close, leaving children without a place to hang out.
“What this does, it gives the kids something to do,” Jones said. Jones’ own organization, Ace to Deuce Community Tennis Association, wants to get more children and teens interested in tennis, as well as recruit more volunteers, coaches and donors to help with fundraising. Security cameras have been installed around the courts, Jones said, adding the tennis community has a great relationship with the Jackson police who routinely patrol the area and are responsive when called. This includes removing the unused pool and replacing it with a water feature for kids to play in and removing the basketball courts. LaPeriall Jones, facility manager of the Dorothy Vest Tennis Center, said since the first meeting with city officials and community members in April 2021, there have been talks with park and recreation officials about ways to uplift the park. Green said she sees the development of a Battlefield Park hotel across the street for people to stay while attending tournaments.īATTLEFIELD PARK, TENNIS PART OF SOLUTION TO KEEPING KIDS SAFE The next step is reaching out to stakeholders to get the ball rolling. Tennis Association and other investors, Green said. While plans for economic development in and around Battlefield Park are still in the beginning stages, with Green having an engineer and architect sketch up her vision, there is support from the U.S.
Jackson City Council President and Ward 7 representative Virgi Lindsay said part of the city’s role is to help assist Green and the organization’s efforts as best they can, including providing some funding, fixing the lights at the courts and installing more lights throughout the park. Tennis Association games, which bring in thousands of attendees to the Mobile area, according to the center’s website. One of the world’s largest public tennis facilities with some 60 state-of-the-art lighted courts, the facility hosts many tournaments, including adult and junior U.S.
The idea came to Green after attending the Southern Sectionals at the Mobile Tennis Center in Alabama. Green’s plan focuses on a tennis center economic development project that could bring not only potential revenue to the city, but the revitalization of Highway 80 near the park. “We actually see the restoration and revitalization of that whole quarter through tennis,” Green said about expanding the Dorothy Vest Tennis Center for tournaments and restoring the area around Battlefield Park and along Highway 80. Following that dreary morning, Green founded Friends of Battlefield Park Foundation, a nonprofit organization aimed at increasing community engagement, improving the health and wellness of the community and reducing crime, according to the group’s website.