Cracked courts

Dan Kulin

Thursday, Oct. 20, 2005 | 7:10 a.m.

Las Vegas' newest tennis complex is less than two months old, but all 23 courts are cracking, and Las Vegas officials blame the contractor for botching the work.

The playing surfaces at the new Stacy and Amanda Darling Memorial Tennis Center -- the site of a men's professional tournament early next year -- have everything from short hairline cracks to cracks that cross the width of courts. Many of the net posts also are encircled by cracks that follow the outline of the posts' concrete anchors.

While the cracks are not affecting play now, one collegiate coach said if the courts had been built correctly, the cracks would not have appeared for about three years.

Las Vegas staff members have blamed contractor Asphalt Products Corp. for the problems, and cited the company's work at the tennis center for rejecting a bid from it for the lucrative contract to build Centennial Hills Community Center.

An Asphalt Products official and representative would not comment on the matter Wednesday. But the company is appealing its disqualification from the Centennial Hills project, which is expected to be worth about $35 million. In a letter to city Purchasing and Contracts Manager Kathleen Rainey, the company's attorney disputed the allegations of improper work on the tennis center, and noted that city inspectors signed off court construction on Sept. 1.

Deputy City Manager Steve Houchens said the city would not comment on the specifics of the Asphalt Products matter because it could end up in court. In its letter to the city, Asphalt Products' attorney said the company planned to file a lawsuit for more than $10 million over its disqualification and over problems with the tennis center contract.

Asphalt Products' appeal of being disqualified for the Centennial Hills project is expected to go to the City Council on Nov. 16, he said.

Meanwhile, the city is spending about $100,000, plus the cost of its workers, to widen two courts. The city needs three top-level courts for the professional men's tournament coming in February, and so far only the center court meets those wider requirements, Houchens said.

After the widening, the three courts will be resurfaced, which will cost an additional $30,000, he said. The center court would not need to be resurfaced if cracks had not developed.

It was unclear Wednesday whether the professional tennis association would demand a crack-free court, but City Councilman Larry Brown said the court will be resurfaced anyway.

Brown, who led the push for the new courts and surrounding park, said someone will be held responsible for the courts' condition.

"But first we have to find out the cause of the problems," Brown said. "Right now, I don't have a sense of who's responsible. Before pointing fingers, we've got to find out what happened."

Ed Gobel, a disabled Vietnam veteran active in handicapped and neighborhood issues, also told the council Wednesday that he believes the tennis center and park do not meet standards set by the Americans With Disabilities Act. Brown and Houchens said they would be surprised if that is true, but Brown said if it is, "someone will be held responsible for that, too."

Asphalt Products was paid $33.4 million to build what is called the Washington Buffalo Park, which covers 110 acres between Summerlin Parkway and Washington Avenue, from Buffalo Drive to Durango Drive. The park features playgrounds, soccer fields, a walking trail and the tennis center, named for two sisters killed in a 1993 car accident.

The total cost, including design and planning, was $41.5 million.

The public began using the park in early September.

On Oct. 7, Rainey sent a letter from the city to Asphalt Products notifying the company that it would not be allowed to bid on the Centennial Hills project.

The letter said the denial was because of Asphalt Products' work on the new park -- specifically the construction of parts of the tennis courts, such as the installation of the net posts and not installing a layer of sand under the concrete courts.

Asphalt Products "has delivered to the city a defective and substandard project," the city letter reads. "All of the concrete tennis courts are marred by a spider web of cracking. As a result of this, the adequacy of the tennis courts for league and championship play for which they were designed is questionable. Further, the life of the project is diminished from that which the city would have enjoyed if (Asphalt Products) had not failed to perform the contract."

Asphalt Products' response, which came from Arizona attorney John Randall Jefferies, disputed each of the city's specific claims.

For example, he said a city worker witnessed the installation of the net posts and any claim the work was done improperly "is simply incorrect."

Jefferies also said that city workers directed Asphalt Products to remove the layer of sand.

"It is improper for the city to authorize such a change during construction and then cite it as a deficiency when it suits its purposes," Jefferies said.

His letter also noted that the city "had full-time inspection and supervision on all aspects of the tennis courts during construction. As a result, the city's field representatives know and have confirmed that the work was done in a workmanlike and acceptable manner."

He went on to say that the Sept. 1 "partial certificate of substantial completion for all work within the tennis court areas" amounts to a "legal acknowledgement" that Asphalt Products "has satisfactory (sic) performed its contract work."

Players and coaches said the cracks were not interfering with matches this week.

Jan Steenekimp, a senior at the University of Montana, said the center court "played well" Wednesday morning, when he won his first round match in the Mountain West Regional Collegiate Men's Tennis Tournament

Alan Dils, the University of New Mexico tennis coach, said that while the facility was fine, he and other coaches were surprised by the cracks.

"For a brand new court, it's extremely disappointing," Dils said, adding that the cracks around the base of the net posts shows their "foundation isn't good." In general, cracks won't show up on a new court until it is three years old, he said.

"You can resurface it, but that's only a Band-Aid," he said. At his school, six courts were replaced in 2004 after officials first tried to resurface cracked courts.

"It will never be as good as if you did it right the first time," he said.

Dan Kulin can be reached at 259-8826 or at dan@lasvegassun.com.