Leesburg tennis player John Mook spends a lot of time driving across the state to play in tournaments, so he was thrilled when the U.S. Tennis Association Foundation revealed a proposal in 2022 to open a world-class tennis facility not far from his Loudoun County home. That proposal became a plan in April, when Loudoun County’s Board of Supervisors voted to approve the project, south of Leesburg on Evergreen Mills Road. “It’s huge news for Northern Virginia and a real boost for the sports of tennis and pickleball,” says Mook.
Construction of the new USTA Mid-Atlantic Tennis Campus, the star amenity of a future residential development called the Village at Clear Springs, is slated to begin in late 2025. When completed (2028 or sooner), the public facility will be first-in-class for the region, boasting 30-plus tennis courts (21 outdoor, 10 indoor, and a 3,500-seat outdoor stadium court) and 20 pickleball courts (eight outdoor, 12 indoor), as well as fitness facilities, a pro shop, locker rooms, player lounges, event spaces, and other features designed to elevate the sport of tennis and promote community health and fitness. The location will also serve as the foundation’s new headquarters, which is currently in Herndon.
“This area has an enormous concentration of tennis enthusiasts, but we lack facilities, especially indoor courts,” says Mook, a level 5.0-rated player. Swinging a racket since age 6, Mook was a champion varsity player at Potomac Falls High School in Sterling and a two-time All-American at Christopher Newport University, where he graduated in 2008. “I often drive at least half an hour for matches, playing late at night for better court availability. For tournaments, I travel to places like Virginia Beach, Richmond, or Newport News, where they have indoor courts for weather backup, usually to compete against players from my own backyard. It will be nice to have players coming here for a change.”
A Win for Loudoun
“One of the first things I noticed when I came on board 10 years ago was the lack of places to play,” says USTA Mid-Atlantic Foundation CEO Tara Fitzpatrick-Navarro. “We operate a very large adult league, and championship tournaments require a large-scale facility.” Currently, the USTA Mid-Atlantic section has more than 30,000 members, with competitions spread over multiple venues.
“We had primarily run tournaments out of Newport News, but the facility we were using there closed in 2016 and became a storage facility,” says Fitzpatrick. “That’s when we began looking for better, permanent opportunities, something we really should have started years earlier. Our players live in Maryland, West Virginia, Washington, DC, and Virginia, so Northern Virginia is certainly a more central location.”
Fitzpatrick first eyed available land near George Mason University’s campus in Prince William County, but plans there were tabled when a feasibility study revealed that the location could not accommodate a facility big enough to meet the growing need. “Our initial plan there was about half the size of what we now have planned for Loudoun, and that was our primary reason to look elsewhere.”
USTA data show tennis growing in popularity, with more than 2.7 million active and interested tennis players in the mid-Atlantic region alone. “The urgent need for a facility was incredibly apparent, and suitable locations were quickly becoming more scarce,” says Fitzpatrick. “It was really the Loudoun County Department of Economic Development, specifically the enthusiasm of executive director Buddy Rizer, that made it happen in Loudoun. Buddy is creative in finding opportunities, and he connected us with the ownership team at Clear Springs.”
Once completed, the 246-acre Village at Clear Springs mixed housing development will feature nearly 1,100 homes, including single-family houses and townhouses, homes for residents 55 and over, and affordable housing for rent or purchase.
“Loudoun moved very quickly in their approach,” says Fitzpatrick. “While we had opportunities with several jurisdictions, Loudoun incorporated us into an overall vision that really aligned with our needs and brand.” Fitzpatrick also notes the proximity to two airports, major roads and highways, and abundant lodging and dining venues. “Accessibility was key to choosing this location.”
USTA Mid-Atlantic Foundation COO Beth Twomey agrees. “Loudoun understood the value of this amenity to the community and county,” she says. “We have a strong history of tennis in the mid-Atlantic. An amenity this size will meet the full life cycle [of] the player and the fan, allowing for programming that suits every level, from absolute beginner to advanced events.”
Scoring for Community Health
The mid-Atlantic campus will be open to the public, regardless of USTA membership, and Village at Clear Springs residents will receive privileges through their homeowners association dues. “This will not be a private facility,” says Twomey. “It’s important for us to shift the narrative away from tennis being a country club sport, and a public facility allows us to broaden the overall base of players. We firmly believe in the physical, mental, and social benefits of tennis, and that doesn’t mean you have to have a USTA membership. It’s more important to us to promote the sport by getting rackets into people’s hands and watching them develop a love of the game.”
Rizer says he’s impressed by USTA leadership’s commitment to making tennis inclusive and accessible to everyone. “I appreciate that USTA Mid-Atlantic has made a concerted effort to connect with and involve our local Title 1 schools to ensure all Loudoun students have the opportunity to participate, learn, and enjoy the game of tennis,” he says.
“This tennis campus adds another important health and recreational amenity that benefits all our citizens,” says Rizer. “It is proven that tennis offers numerous physical, social, and mental health benefits. For example, playing tennis just three hours per week can reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease by 56 percent. Tennis players add 9.7 years to their life over sedentary individuals.”
An Economic Volley
“I first started working with USTA on this project in 2016, so to get where we are today was due to incredible effort and patience by both county and USTA leadership,” says Rizer. “Visionary mixed-use projects like the Village at Clear Springs often require multiple plan submissions over the course of the review process. The merits of the project and its benefits for Loudoun County overall were recognized, and it was ultimately approved to move forward.”
The Mid-Atlantic Foundation estimates that the tennis campus project will cost $42 million to build and will generate $8.5 million annually in economic impact. Rizer anticipates that the facility will be used by more than 158,000 people each year, including more than 12,000 special event attendees, and will generate approximately $5 million in visitor spending annually. He says net tax revenue is estimated at $395,675 per year from real property taxes, and over $1.2 million over three years once real property and business personal property taxes are factored in.
Courting the Future
“The impact of this campus will go far beyond its 20-acre footprint,” says Fitzpatrick. “The more support we get, the more schools we can work with and the more underserved players we can introduce to the life-changing sport of tennis. We are committed to making a difference.” Besides working with schools to introduce tennis to students during school-day physical education classes, Fitzpatrick says USTA plans to increase after-school and summer camp offerings, possibly arranging transportation for children who participate in after-school programs. “There are many opportunities, and we have lots of ideas we are thinking through.”
The USTA Mid-Atlantic Foundation has invested $10 million in the project and is seeking funding partners. “That includes corporate sponsors looking for significant marketing exposure and brand alignment, both through the campus and our larger mid-Atlantic community, as well as philanthropic donors who are passionate about investing in a project that delivers profound physical, social, and mental benefits to the community,” says Twomey. Aggregate Sports, a New York marketing firm, has been tapped to help the foundation sell naming rights and sponsorship packages.
In July, Hines, a global real estate investment manager, announced it had acquired the Village at Clear Springs property. Andrew McGeorge, senior managing director and city head of Hines’ Washington, DC, office, says the firm will continue with the tennis campus plans as scheduled. “It’s an incredibly valuable piece of the larger project,” says McGeorge. “Offering a regional amenity like the USTA regional headquarters in a walkable format for our community’s residents will be a significant, positive influence that sets the Village at Clear Springs apart from other new housing projects in the area. We look forward to the positive impact the community will have, spurring economic growth and providing much-needed housing options.”
Fitzpatrick says she is excited to work with Hines. “Building this campus is so important, and I can’t wait to watch players using these courts. I want to see kids out there every day, hitting balls with their parents, because that’s the next generation coming up. We have this great opportunity to inspire everyone to live healthier, happier lives.”
Feature image Jacob Lund / stock.adobe.com
This story originally ran in our November issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
