YMCA Tennis Center Gets Final City Council Ok

V1 Staff |

Time to start working on that backhand: The Eau Claire City Council has given the final OK to construction of a new Eau Claire YMCA tennis complex. The Menard Family Tennis Center will be funded by a $10 million donation from the family of John Menard, the owner of the home improvement store chain that bears his name. On Sept. 13, the City Council voted unanimously to rezone a 4-acre parcel at the corner of Menomonie Street and Carson Park Drive, near the entrance to Carson Park, for construction of the center. Both the city’s Waterways and Parks Commission and the Plan Commission had previously approved the plan. YMCA Executive Director Ken Van Es says soil will be brought to the site this fall to raise it out of the floodplain, and construction of the building will start in the spring. Meanwhile, the YMCA also gave 3 acres adjacent to the tennis center site to the city for use as a public parking lot.