Dear Lyme Shores Racquet Club Member,
It is hard to believe that six months have passed since our acquisition of the Lyme Shores Racquet Club. As we begin the new year, we would like to provide a quick update on the status of changes to the facility, including the items that we initially listed in our first notice. In general, we are pleased with the way the integration has progressed. Although we have hit a few unexpected hurdles, we are working our way through each of them.
There have been some very pleasant surprises, which include the strength of the staff at LSRC and the show of support (and patience) of the membership with regard to the facility upgrade projects. There
have also been a few unpleasant surprises, including the inability to source materials and the ongoing labor shortages needed for several projects.
Furthermore, during our current renovations, we found
some issues with the building infrastructure which no one except the original builder/owner in 1979 would have known about. For the record, the ownership group who bought it from the original builder 40 years ago and who sold it to us were unaware of these issues and are in no way responsible for them.
The only way to have discovered these problems would have been to open up and explore parts of the infrastructure, which we happened to do to help with some of the upgrades. More on that below, as it impacts the timing of some of our planned projects.
The original list included the following:
• Upgrade Indoor Courts:
o LIGHTING – COMPLETE
o COURT RESURFACE – This project is directly impacted by the problems in sourcing materials. As you may know, there are currently old indoor heating/cooling units behind the curtains on every court. We had planned on removing these units prior to the court resurfacing, but doing so will result in a large hole in the metal siding from the air supply duct. Unfortunately, the pattern of the metal siding used on the building is no
longer available. As the removal of the units will likely damage the court surface, we do not want to resurface the courts until we can remove them and simultaneously replace the siding. We are currently working with the original manufacturer of the metal siding to find possible solutions.
o HVAC – At this point we are pushing back the decision to install court air conditioning in
order to confirm the business use case.
• Renewed Focus on Tennis – COMPLETE – the discontinuation of the fitness component is complete and we have expanded our existing tennis offerings and added new programs (Point Play, Learn to Play, Junior Team Tennis, In-House Leagues, etc.)
• Renewed Focus on Pickleball – IN PROCESS – We are continuing to gather information to provide the best possible pickleball experience. So far we have added Clinics, Open Play, Tournaments and Social Mixers.
• Tennis/Pickleball Pro Shop – COMPLETE – Hopefully you have had the chance to check out our newly completed pro shop. We carry the top brands in racquets, apparel, shoes and essentials and our pricing is at or below our internet competitors. If you find the exact item online at one
of our competitors for cheaper…let us know and we will match it! We also have a large selection of demos available to assist with your new racquet or paddle purchase. We are happy to special order for you if we do not have what you need in stock. Shopping local not only keeps Connecticut money in Connecticut…but also increases our revenue stream which in turn helps
us to continue to re-invest in the facility with updates and improvements.
• Increased Focus on USTA Programs – IN PROCESS – As we continue to build this out, we are excited to add Connie Hurtt to our staff to assist with programming. As a reminder – any captainof a LSRC USTA team will receive a free membership for the next season.
• New Building Color – This is tied to the sourcing of metal siding as discussed above.
• New Roof Coating – REEVALUATING – As many of you know, we were able to deep clean the roof this summer with an intense power washing process (who knew the roof was actually white
instead of gray??). We also made several structural repairs to the roof itself but once again could not source the material to recoat. This might have been a blessing in disguise, as we later discovered a structural flaw in the way the siding/roof/gutters were originally designed. We will
need to make substantial repairs to the areas where the roof meets the siding.
• Clearing of Land in Back – COMPLETE – The land has been cleared and the fence has been installed in advance of the new summer day camps in 2023. These camps will be in addition to the existing tennis camps.
• Resealing Parking Lot – This will be delayed until we determine what heavy equipment may need to be brought in for the future structural repairs.
Lastly, there will be a change with the way we approach the swim membership next summer. We are still working through all the details, but the pool will likely be tied up with instruction and camp use every weekday until at least 4pm. We intend to sell a membership for pool use after 4pm on weekdays and all day on weekends, but have not yet determined a price. It will be lower than last year. Even though we have hit some hurdles with regards to the projects, we remain focused on continuing to
upgrade the facility. This approach is somewhat in our DNA, as you will find in the future that we will upgrade some aspect of the facility each year. This helps keep the club feeling fresh and inviting.
If there are any additional questions about the above, please feel free to contact Juan at the facility or
email him at manager@lymeshores.com. You can also email me at eric@ekmsports.com.
Thank you,
Eric Moore
President – EKM Sports Inc
