Bellevue Tennis Center Is Closed Until January and Its 50 to 60 Children a Day Have Moved to Whitehaven. The $3.1 Million for the Next Phase Has Not Come to the Council Yet.

MEMPHIS CITY COUNCIL

MEMPHIS, August 4, 2026 - The Bellevue Tennis Center in South Memphis is closed for renovation and is scheduled to reopen in January, with the 50 to 60 children a day who used it over the summer relocated to a tennis center in Whitehaven.

The allocated funding for the next phase of work at the site is $3.1 million in fiscal year 2027, and the resolution authorizing it has not yet come before the Memphis City Council.

The update came before the Parks and Environment Committee on August 4, on an item requested by Chairwoman Jana Swearengen-Washington.

What is happening at the building

The chief operating officer of the nonprofit that operates the city's tennis programming described the work in progress. The bathrooms have been demolished in preparation to reconfigure the space and add locker rooms for LeMoyne-Owen College. Carpet has been pulled up in the office area so the flooring can be resurfaced and matched throughout. Items have been removed from the walls so a smooth coat of paint can go on. The organization's belongings are in a storage pod outside the building.

The work also covers resurfacing the parking lot and installing an observation deck.

Summer camp ran nine weeks and wrapped up on July 31. The children were moved to the Eldon Roark Tennis Center in Whitehaven, which the operator said has room for the participants from both facilities. Attendance averaged 50 to 60 children a day across those nine weeks.

Adult programming moved as well. New offerings have started at Eldon Roark for Bellevue participants, including a men's cardio league and a women's league. League teams that played out of Bellevue transferred there, and permanent court time contracts moved to Eldon Roark and to the Wolbrecht center on Ridgeway Road.

The operator said the plan is to reopen Bellevue in January once repairs and renovations are complete, and to build spring programming for children leading to a grand opening where they can show what they learned over the summer and fall.

The $3.1 million

Councilwoman Yolanda Cooper-Sutton asked about the capital improvement dollars, whether the city is in good shape on them going forward, and whether the department has met with the architect.

The Memphis Parks director said the department will be bringing a resolution to the council for approval of the $3.1 million dedicated to Jesse Turner Park, and that future meetings are set for the master planning process as the project moves through its next phase. He said the department is looking to ensure quality amenities that benefit South Memphis and the surrounding neighborhoods, and that it will work with LeMoyne-Owen College.

Chairwoman Swearengen-Washington asked what renovations are planned for the courts themselves, noting the discussion had been about the interior, and asked about netting and resurfacing.

The director said that is what the phase two stakeholder meetings will address. He said part of the $3.1 million was about deciding whether the city redoes indoor courts or adds additional outdoor courts, and that it will depend on the stakeholder meetings and on the dollars available. He said both council members would be invited to those meetings.

Councilwoman Cooper-Sutton confirmed the figure aloud. The allocated funding for FY2027 is $3.1 million.

The rest of the network

The operator gave the committee a picture of where the city's tennis facilities stand.

Programs currently run at Wolbrecht, Leftwich, Bellevue, Eldon Roark and Raleigh. The city also has courts at Frayser, at the Ed Rice Community Center, at Glenview, at Gaisman and at Bert Ferguson Park, where programs are not run.

There are no programs at Frayser because the tennis hut there is closed. The operator said the organization hopes repairs and renovations on those facilities start in the fall, and that it has been selected to apply for a grant to fund those renovations so the city does not have to bear the cost.

Councilwoman Cooper-Sutton opened her remarks by praising a professional women's tournament recently held at Leftwich, saying children had the chance to hit with professional players and that a great deal of money and time had been put into that facility for exactly that kind of event.

What happens next

Memphis Parks said it will bring a resolution to the council for approval of the $3.1 million dedicated to Jesse Turner Park. Stakeholder meetings on phase two, which will determine whether the money goes to indoor or outdoor courts, are still to be scheduled, and both the chairwoman and Councilwoman Cooper-Sutton were told they would be invited. The operator said Bellevue is scheduled to reopen in January and that repairs at the Frayser facility are hoped to begin in the fall. The operator also committed to resend the project slide deck to the chairwoman.

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