City tennis complex is set to open today

Darling family gave $1 million to build center

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Those residents waiting for the sports complex at Washington Avenue and Summerlin Parkway to open, as well as the access ramps at Durango Drive need wait no longer.

The Amanda and Stacy Darling Memorial Tennis Center, 7901 W. Washington Ave., is scheduled to open today. The exit ramps off Summerlin Parkway at Durango Drive, providing easy access to the facility, are slated to be operational Friday.

The 105-acre sports complex is 1? miles long. In the tennis section, also referred to as the Darling Tennis Center, are 23 hard-surfaced tennis courts including one main court with stadium-style seating for roughly 2,800 spectators.

"This will be a hub of activity for the tennis community," said Sandy Foley, who oversees the facility. "It can hold events we couldn't easily accommodate before this. In the past whenever we had a large event, we had to use multiple facilities."

The center court is named the Ronald C. Darling Stadium Court. It is a sunken area surrounded by rows of sloped bench seating. At each end are state-of-the-art electronic scoreboards.

"We're thinking of having things like jazz in the park here, nothing too wild," Foley said. "With the covered seats and the way it's designed, there's not a bad seat in here."

The tennis complex was designed with league play in mind. Corner areas are configured to have a pod of five courts.

Misha Yevtich, tennis pro at the complex, said its opening will encourage more people to take up tennis but it is a game for which the fundamentals can be a challenge to learn.

"Tennis is one of the toughest sports to begin," he said. "If you just grab a racquet and think you're going to be able to instantly play, the balls will be flying all over the place."

The Darling family, which operates five convenience stores in Las Vegas, is a sponsor of youth activities and an annual memorial tennis tournament. Stacy Darling and her younger sister Amanda were 21 and 6, respectively, when they were killed in an auto accident in 1993. Eight years later, the family lost their son Ron to a motorcycle accident.

All members of the Darling family were avid tennis players and active with the Nevada Tennis Association. Fred Darling, patriarch of the family, has raised thousands of dollars for local charities over the years. The family donated $1 million toward the building of the tennis complex.

"When this project started five years ago, there were hopes of doing something to improve and expand (the courts) at Sunset Park," Fred Darling said. "But it went nowhere. Then Lynette Boggs McDonald said if the county doesn't want it, maybe the city does."

The city did want it and its department of leisure services will oversee its operation.

Fred Darling predicted tennis buffs will be in awe of what's been accomplished and said the complex lacks nothing.

"Everybody's wish list was fulfilled," he said.

The tennis area, located in the western end, includes a small pro shop, locker rooms and office space. Annual tennis passes run $500 per family; $300 single adult; $250 for juniors and seniors.

The $41 million sports complex also contains 11 soccer fields with synthetic grass on the southern side and a park area in the northern-most area. That park, yet to be named, consists of a playground, jogging path and a dog park. It is unknown when those areas will open.

The annual Stacy Darling Charity Classic tennis tournament is scheduled to begin in the tennis center today. It regularly draws more than 700 contestants and is the largest tennis tournament in the state.

For more information on the Darling Tennis Center, call 229-2100 or visit www.darlingtenniscenter.net.