Crotty Tennis Complex
The Ambassador E. William Crotty Tennis Complex opened on April 5, 2004, with a formal dedication ceremony by former ATP Tour tennis pro Tom Gullikson.
The tennis complex features nine lighted tennis courts, three sets of bleachers for 50 spectators each, and an electronic scoreboard that can show set scores for six matches simultaneously.
The facility has not only gained the attention of the Embry-Riddle campus, but in September of 2004 the center earned national recognition as one of 15 facilities claiming the 2004 USTA Facility Awards. The USTA’s Outstanding Facility Awards, now in its 23rd year, encourages higher standards for the construction and/or renovation of public tennis facilities throughout the country.
The selection was based upon the following criteria: 1) overall layout and adaptation to site; 2) excellence of court surface and lights; 3) ease of maintenance; 4) accommodations: players, spectator, press/officials; 5) aesthetics: graphics, use of signs, landscaping, etc.; 6) amenities: casual seating for spectators, food services, and social area; and 7) programs supporting the USTA and growth of the game.
The Crotty Tennis Center was recognized in the Collegiate Tennis Center division in the company of Dartmouth College's Alexis Boss Tennis Center & Alan Gordon Pavilion (Hanover, N.H.), the College of Charleston Tennis Center at Patriots Point (Mt. Pleasant, S.C.) and N.C. State's J.W. Isenhour Tennis Complex (Raleigh, N.C.).
The facility was named in honor of E. William Crotty, who died in 1999. Crotty was an attorney, civic leader, father of seven, U.S. ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, and a trustee of Embry-Riddle. During his life, he also contributed his ideals and enthusiasm to the game of tennis, happy when he played and happier still when he watched young people compete.
