The Alaska Tennis Association said Friday it had been offered a $100,000 grant to provide tennis lessons and programs for Anchorage's poor, disabled and youth.
The money is a donation from John Hendrickson, who lives in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., but also owns a home in Anchorage. Hendrickson is a former Alaska state official married to wealthy socialite Marylou Whitney. The announcement -- at a press conference in the Spenard Recreation Center -- comes in what could be the final set of back-and-forths over $10.5 million in legislative funding the Municipality of Anchorage received from Juneau to build a six-court indoor tennis facility next to the Turnagain neighborhood's Dempsey Anderson Ice Complex.
But the money, and the idea of publicly-funded indoor tennis courts, have been bogged down in controversy, politics and hours of public comment.
The funding to build the tennis courts -- dubbed the Northern Lights Rec Center -- was sent to Anchorage as part of the state capital budget. It was requested by the Alaska Tennis Association (ATA) and supported by two tennis-playing politicians: Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan and House Rep. Lindsey Holmes, R-Anchorage. At the request of Holmes, the money was eventually added to a slew of other Anchorage capital-budget projects that included fixing up several aging ice arenas like the Sullivan, Ben Boeke, and Dempsey Anderson.
But since it was brought before the Anchorage Assembly for approval on Oct. 8, the tennis court funding has been subject to hours of public testimony, calls to use the money for other projects, and opposition from Assembly members themselves. Bill Starr, who represents Eagle River and Chugiak, said he was surprised the money was included in funding sent from the state, and he believes much of it should be used for other things. ATA members say they feel they did everything right in getting legislative and local support for the project and are being treated unfairly.
The issue of what to do with the money -- approve it and build the indoor courts, buy an existing indoor tennis facility run by the Alaska Club, or use it for something else -- will be the subject of debate, again, at the next Anchorage Assembly meeting, Nov. 19.
But the grant offered Friday will depend on the decision made next week.
The $100,000 donation announced Friday is contingent on:
• The indoor tennis facility being built on the grounds of the Dempsey Anderson Ice complex;
• The money being used to reach out to minority and at-risk children, and
• ATA starting a mentoring program.
The ATA said it hoped the Assembly members would agree to accept the funding from Juneau and claims the issue has become mired by in-fighting.
"We know a lot of politics are involved, and frankly, we don't like it," said Allen Clendaniel, an ATA committee member.
Contact Sean Doogan at sean(at)alaskadispatch.com