Cover a game-changer for Camas tennis fans

Camas School District leaders are bubbling with excitement over the latest developments in their plan to cover Camas High School’s tennis courts with an all-weather dome.

The district entered into a 30-year partnership with U.S. Tennis Association Pacific Northwest in 2024 to build and operate a fabric bubble covering eight tennis courts at Camas High School, aimed at year-round use for students and community members.

After the USTA pledged $2 million for the project, the district agreed to provide $1 million from its capital fund budget.

Construction work is expected to begin in late May and finish by early December, Battle Ground-based Aetta Architects employees said during the district’s Feb. 10 workshop session.

“This partnership is a game-changer for Camas,” Superintendent John Anzalone said. “It isn’t just about building courts; it’s about creating a legacy of community wellness. By working with the USTA, we are providing our student-athletes and local families with a world-class environment that encourages lifelong health and engagement.”

The project will involve three organizations — the USTA; Farley Group, an Ontario-based construction company that will manufacture the dome; and a yet-to-be-selected court resurfacing entity, according to Dax Logsdon, executive director of Construction Services Group, a Vancouver-based nonprofit firm that provides capital program management, project management and construction consulting services to school districts.

The dome structure will be 400 feet long, 160 feet wide and 38 feet tall, Terry Werdel, an associate principal at Aetta Architects, said during the workshop session.

“The dome is basically inflated by a continuous fan that’s always pushing air out,” Werdel said. “The air is blowing out because (the dome is) positively pressurized, but when you’re inside of it, you don’t sense any pressure difference at all. It’s really interesting.”

The project will first construct a beam foundation, then resurface the courts and build a vestibule building featuring restrooms, utility rooms and a technology center.

The dome fabrication and installation will occur in late October, with the facility expected to be ready by early December.

“The late-May mobilization of the site is to accommodate the girls tennis season,” Logsdon said during the workshop session. “We have the bulk of the project going over the summer … but the procurement duration for the dome fabrication is so long that we’re not going to have the dome up before the boys tennis season starts.”

In exchange for the use of the tennis courts, the USTA has pledged to build a dome around the outdoor courts to protect them from rain, wind, snow and other natural elements; resurface the courts with the same high-caliber surface material used by top-tier tennis players competing in the U.S. Open; provide lighting, nets and other tennis-related infrastructure; and operate a community tennis facility that gives preference to student-athletes but also opens the courts to members of the community who pay a low annual fee.