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AMP tennis courts renovation at love
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Posted on Mar 16 2006
The on again, off again $250,000 renovation of the American Memorial Park tennis courts is off again, according to AMP site manager Chuck Sayon.
The affable park ranger said a delay in the transfer of funds from the CNMI government to match monies already earmarked for the upgrading of the tennis courts as well as a holdup in the issuance of required permits has caused the renovation to be put off for another four to six months.
Because of the delay in the renovation, which would have entailed the resurfacing of the four existing courts and the addition of two more tennis courts that would be up to international standards, it appears like the AMP venue wouldn’t be an ideal site to stage the tennis competitions for the 6th Micronesian Games set here from June 22 to July 2.
Aside from the six tennis courts, the plans for the renovation include the construction of a basketball half court, extended parking spaces, and walkways finally linking the tennis courts to the rest of the AMP compound.
Additionally, Sayon also wants to the venue to have more seating areas, new lights, an improved clubhouse facility, as well as new screens, nets, and posts for the four existing tennis courts.
In the middle of last year, Sayon said he was only waiting for the government to transfer the $100,000 in leftover development funds from the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Battles of Saipan and Tinian to begin the renovation of the AMP tennis courts.
He said that $150,000 for the project would come out from the AMP’s own pockets—from its park service and maintenance funds—and he had already planned the renovation to start by September.
The project was reset to early this year with completion being eyed to coincide with Saipan’s hosting of the Micronesian Games. Now, with groundbreaking to start no earlier than July, it appears AMP wouldn’t be able to host the sport this coming summer.
Fortunately, the Micronesian Games Organizing Council still has a number of alternative venues to host lawn tennis and it seems that the tennis courts over at the Pacific Islands Club in San Antonio is the frontrunner, according to Saipan Tennis Association president Roy Pangelinan.
