Westmorland Park Courts Sport Tile System

PROJECT UPDATE 6/26/2023:
Additional inspection and adjustment visits have resulted in significant improvements to the heaving of the Sport Tile at the courts, although a few spots continue to develop bubbles or heave areas, particularly with dramatic temperature swings (such as the low 40s overnights and upper 70s/80s daytime highs).  Parks will continue to monitor conditions at the courts and work with the manufacturer's rep as needed to perform additional possible fixes (such as ensuring that the tile isn't catching on something at the surface or a fixed point (such as a net post(s)).  Static shocks have subsided during humid or damp weather but seem to be more problematic during extreme dry weather.  Our Parks Facilities electrician is working to determine a location for a ground wire which was a suggested fix to alleviate the problem.  Please note that the courts are still open for play.

Parks and the product manufacturer appreciate your patience while we continue to work through this situation.

BACKGROUND:

The Sport Tile system was installed and completed at the courts in late 2022, but with the start of the first warm weather of the season in mid-April 2023, Parks became aware of issues related to heaving or bulging of the surface, especially when temperatures hit the high 70s.  The manufacturer's product rep was onsite 5/3/23 to inspect the courts and make preliminary adjustment to the tiles.
 

Prior to the installation of the Sport Tile, in 2022, the courts at Westmorland Park received a maintenance round of crack and depression filling, new sport court surface and dual-striping for both tennis and pickleball play - this work was required for the installation of the tile product.

In the year's leading up to the 2022 maintenance work and Sport Tile installation, the courts at Westmorland were in very rough shape and had been for several years following their last round of repair, in 2017.  The work in 2017 was the 4th round of maintenance crack and depression filling, following two attempts to repair the asphalt with mill & overlay work in 1980 and 1987, with each round of work resulting in diminishing returns before significant cracks returned and affected play (as well as generating safety concerns and many calls for maintenance.)  Unfortunately, the age and condition of the courts at Westmorland is somewhat common within the City of Madison Parks system  - which was heavily built out for neighborhood tennis play in the late 1970s and early 1980s - and the budget cannot accommodate the full rebuild of the all of the courts in the system that now require it.

The city contracted with Fred Kolkmann Associates in 2021 to conduct assessments of several court locations within the system, with the recommendation that the courts at Westmorland could be improved in a more lasting and satisfactory manner with the addition of a tile system overlay.  Tile system overlays are a floating playing surface installed directly on top of the existing asphalt court surface following a maintenance repair round and can be expected to provide 10 or more years of satisfactory play.

The courts at Westmorland received the SportCourt tile system lin fall 2022 as a means to further extend their playable life until such time as Parks might be able to fit a full reconstruction project into its budget to rebuild the courts entirely.  The SportCourt tile system will also be dual-striped for both tennis and pickleball play.