Water problems lead to new tennis court construction for Wadsworth City Schools

WADSWORTH — Wadsworth Schools is seeking to add six playable tennis courts as soon as possible and expects to have them completed by early spring 2023. The tennis courts the schools have used during the autumn and spring have become unsafe and damaged from water flowing in from uphill in their 10 years of use, according to the district. "There are cracks that developed, making the surfaces wet and unplayable," schools Treasurer Douglas Beeman said. The tennis courts have been flooding often recently, and the Wadsworth schools are moving to replace them with six new courts separated into two groups of three. The issues presented by the water have made the district try different possible short- and long-term solutions on the tennis courts that have had little success. "We haven't had any problems for seven or eight years. It's rainwater drainage flowing and being trapped there. It's kind of weird, because during the dry weather, the water filters up to the surface," Beeman said. "In between matches, we'd have students use towels and squeegees to dry up the courts to make them playable." Wadsworth Schools tried to remedy the problems with the water on the tennis courts by having an excavator dig up around them and install drain tile, as well as have the courts resealed. Neither of these fixes solved the issues, with water seeping up through the newly formed cracks in a short span of time. "Everything on advice of professionals has not solved anything," Beeman said. The new courts will be constructed to the north of the middle school, keeping down traffic near the other athletics of Wadsworth Schools. Beeman said this was a decision made to keep crowding and blockage down when there are multiple sporting events happening at the home of the Grizzlies. "We have a few other fields. This pushes the tennis courts away from the highly congested area," Beeman said. Contact reporter Mason Savoia at (330) 957-3043 or at msavoia@medina-gazette.com.