Talk of love is once again in the air in Oconto.
That’s because the city again has its own tennis court, after a multi-year hiatus.
The court is located at Sharp Park, on Seventh Street, in Oconto. Never fear, pickleheads: The park also has four outdoor courts, although they require players to bring their own net.
It’s been a hit with users, according to Jeremy Wusterbarth, who took over the Parks and Recreation responsibilities for John Bostedt, who retired in April.
“There’s actually a lot of excitement about it because … there’s quite a few (residents) that do like to play,” Wusterbarth said.
Those residents, he said, had been forced to drive to Oconto Falls or Marinette or another community that had tennis courts when they wanted to hit the ball.
“Having one (a tennis court) locally, you know, obviously, it’s helpful to those residents that were were leaving the area to go play someplace else, so they’re actually … ecstatic about it,” he said.
Oconto had tennis courts at the Bond Center, 1201 Park Ave., but they were displaced when Bellin built its Bellin Health Oconto Hospital nearby at 820 Arbutus Ave.
“The tennis courts were then removed for the for the new hospital, so basically it’s been since the hospital was built that we have not had tennis courts,” Wusterbarth said.
It’s been a while. Bellin Health Oconto Hospital, a 10-bed critical access facility, opened in 2005 and underwent expansion in 2012.
A grant from the Bond Foundation enabled the city to pave the courts and put up fencing at Sharp Park, and the two available nets came from the courts that used to be at the Bond Center.
“They donated those to the park and rec department … . So basically it was just purchasing brand new sleeves to put into the pavement and and new posts, and those those are now up and and everything is operational,” Wusterbarth said. “It’s all ready to roll for play.”
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Oconto gets new public tennis court after years without one
Reporting by Kevin Dittman, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
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