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The Student Newspaper of Mississippi State University

The Reflector

The Student Newspaper of Mississippi State University

The Reflector

MSU tennis on track to break ground for new indoor facility

Head coach Matt Roberts looked out towards football practice field four, pointing out to where the indoor tennis facility will be be constructed in early July. 
“We are on track, and we are currently going to break ground in early July, everything has been approved,” Roberts said. “It is really exciting. We had to jump through some hoops to get to this point, but budget wise we are approved, architecture wise we are approved. Size, dimensions, everything has been bided out now. We just look forward to breaking ground.”
It will be a six court indoor facility and will have many other components in addition to the courts and seating.
The first piece of the indoor facility puzzle Roberts described was the plans to have a lobby where they can have a display for their trophies.
“We really don’t have a place to put anything right now,” Roberts said. “Then we will have seating up above and it will go all the way down. Underneath that, we will have an open area for now, but we will build in a fueling station, training rooms and team lounge.”
The current location of the locker rooms underneath the grand stand of the A.J Pitts Centre will remain the locker rooms for MSU, with the addition of the indoor facility.
The courts will have lighting and be the same color as the outdoor courts MSU currently has. Roberts said he hopes that the courts will be ready to play on in time for SEC matches next year.
“Hopefully we can play our SEC matches in there next spring,” Roberts said. “It may not be finished, but it should be playable. That has been the latest. It’s been amazing to have these guys step up and fundraise, we had 11 guys who fundraised.”
Roberts said the team signed posters and wrote thank you letters in their efforts. He also said he will try and get those who fundraised back for a reunion and showcase them.
Roberts said he hopes with the addition of the indoor facility there will be a chance to generate more revenue, as they can host more tournaments as well as camps and clinics.
The indoor facility will change the MSU tennis program, as it will allow them to prepare for indoor NCAA tournaments as well as make it an additional draw for recruiting tennis players. They will also be able to schedule more Big Ten opponents.
“It just opens up your scheduling a little bit,” Roberts said. “Right now, we have to play these good teams who are okay with playing outdoors, but now we can see top 10, top 15 opponents in here for an indoor match. “

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MSU tennis on track to break ground for new indoor facility