SKOWHEGAN — The Skowhegan Area High School tennis teams have a new home.

The school recently unveiled its brand-new tennis courts, which will be available to the boys and girls tennis teams, the school’s physical education department and the public.

“It’s so nice that the kids and the community will have tennis courts right in our backyard,” Skowhegan athletic director Brian Jones said.

Jones said the project “was about a year and a half” in the making, beginning with approval from the SAD 54 school board. The project, which Jones said cost $1.2 million, broke ground in June and ended earlier this month.

“I think it’s a win, not only for the boys and girls tennis teams, but also the community, in promoting lifelong activity,” said Skowhegan boys tennis coach Dan Riley. “As long as it’s outside, (tennis) is easy for people to do. It’s an affordable way to stay active. I’m pretty pumped for the community and the high school.”

The four new courts boast a unique look that holds true to the school color scheme: orange with white lines and gray boundaries. The fencing around the court is black.

“We could have gone orange and black (for the court), but we figured that might get a little too hot for the kids (in warm weather) with black out there,” Skowhegan girls tennis coach Andrew Staples said. “We thought orange and gray was a good compromise. I’m actually pretty pumped to have something that looks like that, because people will talk about it. I’m hoping that we might start having conversations about shifting some of the regional (tournaments) to the Skowhegan area.”

Two of the four courts are also lined for pickleball play. The courts are surrounded by light posts, providing the ability for teams or the public to play tennis in the evening.

“There’s a push button on the side of the football ticket booth, so that somebody from the community can push the button and the lights will come on for a little more than an hour, and they have free access to play under the lights if someone shows up to play tennis or pickleball in the evening,” Jones said.

Skowhegan senior Michela Provost hits the ball while playing tennis with teammates on the new tennis courts Monday at the high school in Skowhegan. Anna Chadwick/Morning Sentinel

Jones said the new lights also provide the possibility of night matches for the tennis teams in the spring.

“I’ve always been the kind of coach that would actually prefer to schedule a match at night, because I think the atmosphere is that much better,” Staples said. “Back in 2021, we were playing in the Northern Maine semifinals, and it was under the lights and the atmosphere was just unbelievable. I’m the type of coach that likes that, so to have state-of-the-art lighting to have whenever we need it, that just makes it better.”

“Playing under the lights is kind of more fun,” said Skowhegan sophomore Makayla Grant. “It’s just a different vibe. It’s always cooler (at night), because sometimes it’s hot (during the day).”

Skowhegan’s former tennis home, on the Memorial Field complex, was not available in the spring due to the construction of a new elementary school, which is scheduled to open in 2025. The River Hawks played their home meets at Camp Somerset in Smithfield, about 13 miles from the school.

Aside from its current construction, the Memorial Field complex was also nearly 2 miles away from the high school, an estimated seven-minute drive. The new courts sit adjacent to the Reginald Clark football field, directly behind the school.

“We’re really excited (for the new courts),” said Skowhegan senior Michela Provost. “People have been talking, this whole time, about not having to drive to Smithfield. We were really thankful to be able to use (Camp Somerset), so we weren’t scrounging around (for courts). But this is beautiful. It’s so nice to have it right out back (of the school).”

“It’s definitely cool to have the court so close to us, where we live and go to school,” added Skowhegan junior Marley Dore.

Even without a true home-court advantage, the Skowhegan boys team went 13-3 in the spring, capturing its second consecutive Class A North title. The River Hawks graduated five players from the team, but should still be a contender, as they bring back senior Drake Turcotte, who reached the Round of 16 of the state singles tournament.

“We have some upperclassmen with potential and some underclassmen with potential,” Riley said. “For them to be able to play on the courts — Drake Turcotte is a senior, Erick Cunliffe is a senior — for them to enjoy that opportunity, I hope they know how lucky they are, as well as the whole team.”

The Skowhegan girls team finished 2-10 but graduated only three seniors in the spring, so it should return a solid roster with experience next season.

Both Riley and Staples are hopeful the new court will attract more students to give tennis a try.

“It’s a game-changer, for sure,” Staples said. “It’s an opportunity to get more kids involved in the sport, especially at the high school. Exciting is an understatement, for sure. We had a bunch of kids show up for the unveiling, so they’re pretty eager to get out there and use them as well.

“(The location of the new courts) makes it more inviting to anybody in the community, especially our kids.”

The tennis courts are not the only new athletic site in the school’s future. The Skowhegan Board of Selectmen, by a 3-1 vote, awarded a $2.3 million bid to Ranger Construction Corporation of Fairfield for a new sod baseball field, which will be built next to the Skowhegan Community Center at 39 Poulin Drive. The baseball field has an estimated finish date of spring of 2026.