Farmingdale High School Sports Facilities: Farmingdale High School held a ribbon-cutting Thursday to celebrate the opening of five new dual-use tennis and pickleball courts. Built as part of a voter-approved bond, the courts will be used by school teams and open to the public on weekends and when not in use.
Part of a Long-Term Facility Plan
The new courts were built as part of a $36 million bond passed in 2016. The money also funded the Aquatic Center and fields at Howitt Middle School.
“We actually took the tennis courts down behind the high school so we could move the maintenance facility to the back of the Southern State Parkway,” Defendini told Patch.
“That was the first step that we took: to clear that out of the Howitt area so we could build the Aquatic Center and fields over at Howitt now, full circle. The last thing we’re doing is putting the courts back, and we’re putting them back in a more prominent place. Where they were located before was right in the middle of a parking lot. Now they’re located in our athletic complex over here at the high school.” – (Defendini)
Improving School and Community Access
The new location allows students and families to attend matches. All five courts are used for competition. Before this, the varsity tennis team had no home courts.
“We believe that our athletes have a right to have a true home game. Before we had the tennis courts here, our tennis team was not able to have home meets here. They had to travel to other facilities to play.” – (Defendini)
Players had less practice time due to travel. Now, with on-site courts, practice and match schedules are easier to manage.
Pickleball Adds More Opportunities
Lines for pickleball were added to the courts at no extra cost. The public can play when school is not in session.
“Our community now, when our kids are not using them, get a lot of use, because pickleball is all the rage.” – (Defendini)
The courts are open from sunrise to sunset. There are no lights, and the district has no plans to add them.
“We understand our responsibility not only to doing the best we can to build projects that are meaningful, accessible and usable, but also being responsible to our community.” – (Defendini)
“We have residents here who connected to the tennis courts, and we’re always trying to be thoughtful about not putting lights on and opening up this environment to the later evening hours. We’ll see as time goes on whether or not that changes. But for now, we’re happy with the fact that we have the courts as they are today, and there are no immediate plans to add lights.” – (Defendini)
When the Public Can Use the Courts
The public can use the courts on weekends and during the summer. In the spring and fall, when varsity teams practice, the courts are mostly reserved until about 5 p.m.
“During the fall and spring months, they’re going to be used in the after hours, because we have our own teams here…They can always take a look at the tennis schedule to get an understanding where they might be at any given time. [The varsity team] might have an away match, and they’ll be open for the community’s use.” – (Defendini)
“But they have to assume for the most part that during the fall and during the spring, really the courts will be reserved for Saturdays and Sundays, until we get a little later on into the spring season, when the sun goes down a little later. Our team wraps up a lot of the time around 5 p.m., so the community would have use all the way from 5 p.m. to dusk.” – (Defendini)
News in Brief: Farmingdale High School Sports Facilities
Farmingdale High School opened five new courts for tennis and pickleball. Funded by a 2016 bond, the courts are for school and community use. Public access is allowed on weekends and evenings. Superintendent Paul Defendini said they won’t add lights yet, but the district may consider it in the future.
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