Emporia State Breaks Ground on Historic Tennis Complex
Emporia, KS (10/25/2019) — Amid the numerous festivities on the ESU campus during last weekend's Homecoming celebration, a defining moment for Emporia State Athletics took place. On Saturday, October 19, ESU held the ceremonial groundbreaking for the Kossover Family Tennis Complex.
The new complex will bring championship-quality indoor courts to the ESU campus, as well as on-site locker rooms, coach's office, players' lounge and more.
The $3.2 million Kossover Family Tennis Complex will be a state-of-the-art facility, the first of its kind in the MIAA conference. Located near the existing Milton Tennis Courts on the southeast corner of Merchant Street and 18th Avenue, the complex will more than double the current tennis court footprint. Construction is slated to begin early in 2020.
"This complex will not only be a shot in the arm for ESU's tennis program, but it also raises the bar of what's possible for Emporia State and for the greater community," said Shane Shivley, Emporia State University Foundation president, in his remarks to the crowd.
Men's tennis player Cameron Kienholz shared his excitement after the event.
"For our tennis program, it is a really big boost. There is a lot of excitement throughout the university about it. It is going to be a great new face for the university. It is going to be the first thing you see when you come off the highway, so I think that is a huge, huge deal. We can't wait for it to get started."
About Emporia State University
Emporia State University offers over 200 academic programs in the School of Business, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, School of Library and Information Management and The Teachers College. For three consecutive years, ESU is the only public university in Kansas to have earned national recognition as a College of Distinction, an honor for universities that demonstrate innovative application of high-impact education. In addition, U.S. News and World Report data shows ESU students have the lowest student debt of all Kansas public universities. U.S. News also cited ESU's School of Business as a best value for both in-state and out-of-state students and ranked the online graduate education program in the Top 100 programs in the nation.
For more information, visit www.emporia.edu.
Media Attachments
From left, Skip Evans, Kathy Putnam, Larry Putnam, Bobbi Sauder, Steve Sauder, Kent Weiser and George Milton turn over dirt for the Kossover Family Tennis Complex.
Left to right, Shane Shivley, Harris Kossover, Greg Bachman, Ken Hush, Cameron Keinholz, Les Stafford, Greg Kossover and Allison Garrett prepare to break ground for the Kossover Family Tennis Complex.