West Palm Beach city commissioners overturned a plan to have the United States Tennis Association Florida operate the city’s tennis centers, handing control instead to a new company co-founded by a retired star.
By a 4-1 vote, commissioners decided on Tuesday, Feb. 17, that a city competitive bidding process that awarded control to USTA Florida had been flawed.
The vote effectively hands a right to negotiate a management contract to Let’s Play Tennis, LLC, a company co-founded by retired South African tennis star Kevin Anderson and Palm Beach businessman and tennis trainer Cameron Lickle.
The move was a dramatic turn in an emotional monthslong battle over who will operate three city tennis centers, one that pitted local operators against a nationally known one.
The USTA Florida had won the bidding process in November, beating out five other companies. The three centers it would have managed are at Gaines Park, Howard Park and South Olive Park.
The selection caused an uproar at the popular South Olive Tennis Center, where the center’s longtime manager, Skip Jackson, faced being displaced by an out-of-town group
Jackson’s company and Let’s Play Tennis both appealed the decision, contending that the city failed to fairly assess each company.
Among the complaints was that the city’s selection committee improperly valued the USTA Florida’s proposal higher because of the company’s status as a nationally known brand.
At their Feb. 17 meeting, commissioners heard the appeal from Let’s Play Tennis. The company was formed last year by Lickle and Anderson, who in 2018 was ranked the No. 5 male tennis player in the world.
Lickle told commisisoners that the selection committee made multiple errors that, taken together, led to the USTA Florda unfairly winning the contract.
“Even modest corrections would change the reward,” he said.
The city’s procurement official defended the selection process, saying there was no evidence the city’s selection committee made any substantive legal or procedural errors.
But commissioners were swayed by the upstart company’s arguments, declaring that the process was flawed.
Commissioner Christina Lambert, who represents the area where the South Olive Tennis Center is located, said she found at least two issues raised where the selection committee’s decision “did not meet the four evaluation criteria.”
Lickle said in an interview after the vote that he was thrilled his company had prevailed and that he would seize the opportunity to grow the city’s tennis culture, saying it has lost too many players to centers in Boca Raton, Delray Beach and other nearby towns.
The goal, he said, was growing “tennis in West Palm Beach.”
Lickle said his company, which now is expected to begin contract negotiations with the city, will need tennis pros to staff the city’s three centers and that Jackson would be welcome to continue working at the South Olive Tennis Center.
Lambert said the monthslong outpouring from tennis-playing residents over the bidding process underscored how important the sport was across the city.
“Tennis is more than just a sport,” she said. “It’s a part of many people’s lives.”
Andrew Marra is a reporter at The Palm Beach Post. Reach him at amarra@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: West Palm Beach ditches USTA, selects star’s company to operate tennis centers
Reporting by Andrew Marra, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post
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