Family Circle Tennis Center Is Named 'Tennis Welcome Center of the Month'
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Amanda Becker
PO Box 7845
Hilton Head Island,
843-686-3036
Amanda@TennisIndustry.org
06/20/08 - Where can you find a $15 million award-winning public tennis facility with 17 lighted courts, a 10,200 seat stadium, year-round tennis programs and tournaments for all ages, and the oldest Tier I all-women’s professional tennis tournament in the US? The answer: The Family Circle Tennis Center.
Located just ten miles from downtown Charleston, SC, this first-class facility was named one of the Top 50 Tennis Welcome Center Facilities for 2007. The Family Circle Tennis Center was one of the first Tennis Welcome Centers in the country joining the program at its inception in 2004.
After becoming a Tennis Welcome Center, The Family Circle Tennis Center changed several of its programs, particularly junior programs, to encourage more people to start playing. “We are constantly changing, adding or deleting programs that we offer. This is a necessity to stay ahead of the industry,” said Rob Eppelsheimer, Family Circle Tennis Center Director. “When we became a Tennis Welcome Center our junior programming changed in the direction of more grassroot offerings and we saw a dramatic increase in all junior programming.”
The Family Circle Tennis Center currently has about 600 player memberships and has seen a steady increase in these numbers over the last few years. The club is continually marketing its tennis programs in the community by hosting The Family Circle Cup, USTA Block Parties, Race for the Cure and an annual USTA Welcome Back to Tennis event as well as sending representatives from the center to other functions in the Charleston area to help promote its tennis programs.
“As a public tennis facility, we strive to grow the game of tennis on a year-round basis by constantly improving and expanding our grass roots programming options through the implementation of USTA and TIA initiatives,” commented Eppelsheimer. “We are proud to be a part of the Tennis Welcome Center system because we recognize the importance of creating both a positive environment and an exciting experience for players of all abilities as they enjoy this great sport throughout their lives.”
If you would like to be highlighted as a Tennis Welcome Center of the Month in the next newsletter please contact Amanda@tennisindustry.org and tell us how your club is leading the charge in the growth of the sport.
The Family Circle Tennis Center, home of the Family Circle Cup and AVP Charleston Open, is a public facility owned by the City of Charleston and operated by Meredith Corporation that hosts a variety of events including concerts, festivals, tennis events and other special activities throughout the year. With over 21 million readers, Family Circle is one of the most widely read monthly magazines in America and is one of 14 leading subscription magazines owned by Meredith Corporation. The Tennis Center features a 10,200 seat stadium, a Grand Lawn, 17 tennis courts - all lighted for night play, and a racquet club featuring a full service Pro Shop and locker room facilities. The Family Circle Tennis Center has a full service event management staff capable of handling all aspects of an event including ticketing, operations, sales, advertising, marketing, public relations, and food & beverage. For more information on the Family Circle Tennis Center, or for a complete schedule of events, please call (843) 849-5300 or visit us on the web at www.familycirclecup.com.
The TIA is a non-profit trade organization whose mission is to support the game of tennis by developing and implementing programs and campaigns to increase participants, educate the public, and support the business of tennis. The TIA is the information source and clearing house for positive tennis news that is supplied to TIA members, tennis publications and to the mainstream media in cooperation with the United States Tennis Association (USTA). Core TIA initiatives include TIA/USTA Tennis Health Index – tennis participation measure, Consumer and Trade Research, Tennis Welcome Centers, Cardio Tennis, Growing Tennis Programs, 50-50 Co-op Program, Quickstart Tennis and TennisConnect.org. For more information, please visit TennisIndustry.org or GrowingTennis.com.
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Tennis Industry Association
117 Executive Center
Hilton Head Island, SC 29928
Phone: (843) 686-3036
Fax: (843) 686-3078
www.tennisindustry.org
