In the Fall of 2024, the referendum for new community tennis courts at Gorham Middle School failed. Right now, the only courts in Gorham that are solely purposed for tennis are located at Gorham High School, and they are currently unplayable.
However, a plan was laid for the current courts to be reconditioned in Summer 2025. This would include, as laid out by Cindy Hazleton, recreation director at the Gorham Recreation Dept., a joint effort between Gorham Public Works and Shaw Brothers to take out the current asphalt, regrade and reestablish the subsurface, and lay down a new surface. An outside contractor would seal the courts to give them their classic color, the courts would receive new posts and nets, and pedestrian access would be added from the road.
This project would be paid for by a combined effort from allocated town funds and a grant with the United States Tennis Association (USTA) that Gorham has applied for. It would, at least for now, resolve the lack of playable tennis courts in Gorham—hopefully by the beginning of the 2025-2026 school year.
“We are crossing our fingers that the budget passes. The Gorham Recreation Department strongly encourages the reconditioning of the courts…it would be beneficial to the whole community,” says Hazelton.
Gorham has recently established a youth tennis program in partnership with the USTA, to which playable tennis courts are essential. Having four available courts would be ideal for running this program, and “the high school is a primary location and has been for years,” Hazelton comments.
The boys varsity tennis head coach, Aaron Landry, explained that the high school tennis teams have resorted to playing their home matches in the USM field house, as well as sharing courts with the girls teams for multiple matches.
Each varsity tennis team alone plays five matches, which ends up forcing large time commitments from both teams. With waning daylight and cooler temperatures in the early spring, combining boys and girls tennis matches is grossly inconvenient. Landry is excited for the courts to be reconditioned this summer, as they have spent the last few seasons working around these challenges, but he is worried about the long-term future of the courts due to the potential expansion of the high school.
On the same ballot as the failing tennis referendum, an expansion of GHS was approved. The cafeteria is scheduled to be expanded in Summer 2025, followed by the construction of a 6-modular classroom wing in Summer 2026, with many more expansion referendums on their way, as well. This is largely why the town voted against the construction of new courts; there is concern about where they would fit amongst the possible renovations, both physically and monetarily.
“I’m against being paralyzed by the fear that we might possibly expand the high school down the line, because we don’t know when that will happen. 5…10 years? No one knows!” says Landry, a proponent of entirely new courts located at the high school. “But I am pleased that the town stepped up because I think that tennis courts are valuable, not only for the high school but also for the community.”
Predominantly, Landry hopes to see “the plans go through this summer, where they recondition the courts and clear the trees. That way our teams and our community can play on courts that are more available and longer-lasting.” The public budget hearing that will resolve whether to move forward with the allocation of funds to recondition the courts will be held on Tuesday, May 13.