MANKATO — Tennis court construction at Dakota Meadows Middle School is expected to begin in a few weeks, Mankato school district Supt. Paul Peterson said before the School Board approved bids Monday for the project — part of the bond referendum.
The new courts in upper North Mankato will not only bring Dakota Meadows up to speed with the courts at Prairie Winds Middle School but will give West High School tennis players a temporary home while their site is in a construction zone.
“What the plan is, we’re going to build those Dakota Meadows tennis courts now. That will be the home of West Scarlet Tennis for the next few years,” Peterson said.
“Once the West construction project is complete, we will redo the courts at West High School and return varsity tennis to the West campus.”
Dakota Meadows will then have its own middle school courts moving forward, which their students will still be able to use when the high schoolers aren’t using them.
The courts will be constructed next to the new pool, which also is part of the referendum.
The School Board accepted a $921,490 bid; Multiple contractors are involved.
Peterson said the new courts and the pool also will be community spaces.
“Yes, we want our middle school and high school kids to have great facilities, but in upper North Mankato, it’s also providing the community the chance to participate in tennis.”
Peterson said construction on the courts will wrap up before tennis practices begin this summer.
The board also approved bids for long-term facilities maintenance projects Monday, two of which outline plans to reconstruct the playgrounds at Kennedy and Washington elementary schools.
These are separate from the bond projects and part of the district’s regular maintenance budget.
The School Board approved a bid of $196,592 from W.W. Blacktopping Inc. of Mankato for those projects and others including parking lot updates at Kennedy and Bridges schools.
All projects would start this summer and be done before classes start up again.