05/17/2022
Dear Santa Fe Tennis Community,
I want to provide you some news about the Shellaberger Tennis Center. As you may remember, in the Fall we sent an email to let our members know that the tennis center was being listed for sale. Recently we have accepted an offer for the property. With an important step in the agreement having been completed yesterday we feel now is the appropriate time to share this information. As I’m sure everyone is curious... all I can say is that the new buyers have not indicated how they will utilize the building.
It is with a heavy heart I must say that this month will be the last month that we are open for memberships and operations. The official last day of operations will be Sunday, June 5th, 2022. (Any payments for memberships, court time, and programs for the month of June, 2022 and beyond will be refunded.) Please join us before we close on either or all of the following dates.
· Farewell Party - Friday, June 3 from 6-9pm. Open to all. The tennis courts will be available for play for whoever would like to hit some balls, but mostly it will be in the lounge where we’ll have some drinks and light food providing a chance to socialize with your tennis friends here one more time.
· Free Weekend of Hitting – Saturday June 4th and Sunday June 5th, all day. Open to all. For those that find it most fitting to say goodbye on-court we will be providing free court time during the weekend. We will be finishing up a couple of USTA matches on those days too though, so I recommend you book your court in advance. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to email, call, or stop by.
I would like to take this moment to acknowledge Rosemarie Shellaberger for the contribution she made to tennis in Santa Fe. I think a lot of people do not know this, but before Rosemarie donated funds to build this beautiful indoor tennis center, which was completed in 2002, she donated the funds to have eight outdoor courts built at the College of Santa Fe in the 1970s. These courts were actively used up until the College ceased to exist in 2008. Whereas I think we can all agree that change coincides with time and where sometimes it is sad to see certain changes, we can be thankful for all of the fun times we were able to experience on the tennis courts provided by Rosemarie Shellaberger. We also would like to recognize the contributions of the Gladys Heldman, and the entire Heldman family, whom our Center Court is named for, and for all of her contributions in the world of tennis, both here in Santa Fe, and beyond.
I also would like to thank the Shellaberger staff for being so great all these years and to all of you for supporting the club throught Covid-19. For me it has truly been a great 11 years running the club and living here in Santa Fe.
On behalf of my wife Coach Rosey and daughter Macy Elise Rose who is now heading to play Division 1 Collegeiate Tennis at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, we thank you for your kindness and support of our small business in Santa Fe. We have collectively loved tennis for over 91 years,
Enjoyed coaching and sharing this sport. We are grateful.
We all feel lucky to have had the chance to get to know and spend time with so many of you.
I wish you health and happiness,
Eric Rose and family
