This is my first time writing in to express an opinion about an ongoing issue. Although I have nothing personal against tennis and I am certainly generally supportive of any and all athletic endeavors, I have to call into question the seemingly entitled nature of many tennis players (I know it is not all).
I will make two points, the first of which is irrefutable, and the second point is certainly observatory and subjective.
A tennis court can only accommodate a maximum of four players at one time, which is well below the amount almost all other courts of similar size can, at any given time. Basketball can handle up to 20 players at a time (playing two half-court games). I’m not sure what the capacity of the proposed skate park would be, but it is sure to be way more than 16 (assuming four courts). Soccer futsal courts (of which we have none) can handle eight to 12 easily.
Tennis fans worry about losing their courts to skate park
Using this number comparison, I cannot think of a less efficient way to use space to improve the lives of the most people than a tennis court.
My observation is that most of the people I see on the tennis courts around town are old enough to drive to other nearby courts, of which there are plenty. Our young children, either walking or on their bikes, do not have that luxury, so it seems smarter to centralize skate parks, basketball courts, futsal courts, etc., and decentralize tennis courts.
Peter Daddabbo
Montclair
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