Tennis Center Replacement

About the Project

Columbia University is replacing its existing tennis facility at the Baker Athletics Complex (clubhouse and air-supported bubble) with a state-of-the-art tennis center that will enhance the experience for student-athletes and club members. The new tennis facility will have six indoor courts and six exterior rooftop courts, doubling the current number of courts. It will also house locker rooms, offices, and associated fitness and strength rooms. The new building will be contained within the same footprint of the existing facility and will rise slightly higher (less than 15 feet higher) than the current structure. The new facility will eliminate the need for an air-supported bubble.

Schedule

Substantial construction for the new tennis center is complete. Due to weather conditions, there will be extensive sitework and additional items that will continue to be performed into the summer.

Regular work hours will be 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

What to Expect

As with most construction projects, the new tennis facility will have some impacts while construction takes place. Some impacts to expect include increased traffic, noise, and minimal street and sidewalk closures due to site utilities work. The construction site is located within the Baker Athletics Complex by the waterfront, which is about a street away from the nearest neighboring buildings. All construction traffic will utilize the driveway down to the existing building.

For More Information

If you have any questions or concerns about this work, please call the Columbia University Facilities Services Center 24 hours a day, seven days a week at (212) 854-2222, or email [email protected] (emails are responded to during regular business hours). 

Frequently Asked Questions

The current tennis facility systems and air-supported bubble are past their useful life, requiring the construction of a new facility. The Ivy League sports programs, specifically our Tennis Programs, have become increasingly competitive. Columbia wants to continue recruiting the best students, many of whom are drawn to the school because of its outstanding sports programs. This need provides an opportunity to build a facility that reflects the goals of the Tennis program, increasing the number of courts for more play and adding outdoor courts for the Tennis program to train and practice on a court surface that they are often competing on.

Perkins & Will is the architect. Their firm has a dedicated Sports Practice which includes specialty in collegiate facilities. The contractor is Plaza Construction.

The project is targeting LEED Gold certification. Additional design strategies are being implemented as it relates to the building’s location along the water, taking into account climate change and water levels. The first level of the building will be able to take in and then release the water with minimal impact should a historic flood occur.

The primary use of the structure will be to meet the current student-athletes’ needs. The facility will also maintain its current structure of Club use, which is open to the public, and will have memberships available for purchase for Northern Manhattan residents.

In addition, the facility will be used during Columbia camps. Columbia offers 32 scholarships annually for children from Northern Manhattan to summer Columbia Cubs Camps and select Columbia Sports Camps at Baker Field. During construction, Columbia will work with the Inwood community to find alternate locations for camps that the community typically holds within the tennis facility.

As Columbia has done in the past, we will coordinate with the community to make the space available by developing with community and elected leaders a system for such use.

The project will include improvements along the water to extend the Muscota Marsh Park along the new building. Additionally, a new walkway will be added to the existing vehicle drive from 218th Street to provide safer access for pedestrians as well.

This project is being built as-of-right, which complies with all applicable zoning regulations. Columbia has amended an approved Waterfront Zoning Plan to reflect the new building, and the design is subject to review by NYC agencies such as the Department of Buildings to ensure its design meets code.

Improvements will be made to the pedestrian areas along the waterfront, but the waterfront itself will not be impacted other than the relocation of the existing stormwater discharge.

The rooftop lights have been designed to be direct lighting for the outdoor courts with minimal spill to the surrounding areas. The tennis center lights will follow the same nighttime restrictions as the other venues at the Baker Athletics Complex.