Seaview Tennis Center will receive significant overhaul, say town officials

Court renovations, a new tennis manager and changes to how pro staff are contracted are among the changes coming to the Seaview Tennis Center this summer.

Details of the planned changes for the facility at 340 Seaview Ave. were announced during the Recreation Advisory Board’s meeting April 16 by Recreation Department Assistant Director Rance Gaede. Renovations, which include resurfacing the center's courts, replacing its 10-foot fencing, installing new benches and replacing the center’s awnings, are set to begin to June 1.

“When we get ready to reopen, hopefully the first of August, you’ll be looking at predominantly a new tennis facility for you to utilize,” Gaede said.

The update is part of the department’s effort to improve the town’s tennis program, following an October meeting at which commissioners and residents criticized the tennis center’s amenities, pro shop staff and lack of town oversight over the tennis programming.

Recreation Director Mark Bresnahan told the board that Dan Stover had been hired to manage the town's tennis centers. Stover's hiring, Bresnahan said, was aimed at addressing the issues raised by board members about pro shop staff and the shortcomings of the program.

As a former professional player with more than 12 years of experience as a tennis director, including for the Willoughby Golf Club in Stuart and Boca Grove and Tennis in Boca Raton, Stover will serve in this new position as the head executive for the Seaview and Phipps Ocean Park tennis centers. His duties will include organizing the professional staff.

Bresnahan noted that Stover would not lead any tennis lessons or training. Stover's tenure as tennis manager began April 22.

Under the previous system, town head tennis professional Dejan Minic is in charge of running the program, as well as hiring and leading the professional tennis staff. Minic also is responsible for racket sales and restringing.

However, as a contractor, Minic was allowed to pocket any excess revenue, so long as the program brought in $90,000 in revenue for the town, commissioners noted during their October meeting. He also received payments for organizing the lesson and training schedules.

Under the new system, every tennis professional, including Minic, will have their own contract directly with the town, Bresnahan said during the April meeting. For Minic, that means he will lose the revenue from organizing lessons with the other tennis professionals.

While commissioners praised the updates to the Seaview Tennis Center and the streamlining of the town's tennis program, they worried that the changes could lead to Minic's departure, since the hiring of Stover likely means an earnings cut for Minic. Also, because Minic now recruits and hires the professional staff, commissioners worried they will follow him if he leaves.

Commissioner Henry Jamison highlighted the international staff brought in by Minic and the work he put into building the tennis program at Seaview. "My biggest concern is that we do everything we can to keep Dan (Minic) here," he said.

Commissioner David Missner questioned the change, saying that the program had worked well under Minic. "To me, this is not how you treat somebody who's been busting their butt for 15 years to make this program work," he said.

Bresnahan responded by saying the changes were made in an attempt to emulate the staff structure used at the Par 3 Golf Course, a change the commissioners had asked for at the October meeting. "We hope he stays around. I've had many conversations with Dan (Minic)," Bresnahan said.

Commissioners Susan Watts, Millie Dayton and Peter Harris welcomed the changes.

"This commission ... made a unanimous division to elevate Seaview's tennis program to one that's best in the country," Harris said. "Mark (Bresnahan) implemented our recommendations. That recommendation has consequences — those actions have consequences. Now, we have to manage those consequences."

Diego Diaz Lasa is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at dlasa@pbdailynews.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Seaview Tennis Center will undergo overhaul, say town officials