New tennis courts and parking spaces are taking shape on land west of Greenfield-Central High School, making way for expanded opportunities for local athletes.
Ground broke on the project this summer, but the plans have been in the works for years in what school officials hope will be an exciting future for GC Cougars.
While tennis courts are the first to come, eventually the expansive plot of land could be developed into even more opportunities for local students and their families to enjoy.
Eventually, the goal is to also place baseball and softball diamonds on the land, as well as a cross country course.
Often referred to as “the Frost property,” the GC school board bought the 94 acres of farmland at Franklin Street from Bob and Bev Frost back in 2018 for $3.5 million with plans to expand school opportunities in the future.
“The Frost property really opens up a lot of exciting possibilities for our corporation and athletic department,” said Jared Manning, director of athletics. “We’re proud of this step forward and excited about what it means not just for tennis– but for the entire Greenfield-Central community.”
The Frosts– which for years had used part of the land as a private airplane runway– were allowed to stay in their home on the property for as long as they wanted. They have since passed away.
Back in 2022, the school corporation used a Fort Wayne architecture firm to assess how to best use the land. Ideas included an athletics complex; additional parking spaces; and maybe even a new school or career center.
Tennis courts rose to the top of the list of items to address immediately, said Superintendent Dr. Harold Olin. By building new tennis courts on the west side of Franklin Street, that will allow the current courts to be converted into parking spaces for the GCHS Performing Arts Center, the new auditorium that was completed in 2024.
“The existing tennis courts are nearing their ‘end of life,’ so we made the decision to invest in new courts on the west property instead of replacing them where they currently sit,” Olin said. “This certainly benefits our men’s and women’s tennis programs in that we will not need to go a few seasons without tennis courts. It also benefits the high school programs in that the current tennis courts will be converted to parking in the future. This was a request from the city when we added the new auditorium.”
The tennis courts, parking lot and concession/storage building will cover about 10 acres of the property. The project is much larger than that currently, he noted, because dirt is being moved for retention areas as well.
Contractor MacDougall Pierce will be completing most of the site preparation, foundations, utilities and underground work in the first half of this month. By the end of August, the building and courts will start taking shape.
Most of the project will be finished around November of 2025. That means the men’s season will remain at the old courts, but the women’s tennis season should be able to use the new courts in the spring of 2026, said Nate Day, GC business manager.
Also in 2026, the old tennis courts will begin to be converted into parking spaces– roughly 150 of them.
Other ideas for a sports complex in the near future include baseball and softball diamonds. Olin said the district will address more pressing needs for now, so those are a few years away. The cross country course will have to coincide with the city’s thoroughfare plan, so more consideration is needed for that project as well.
And while at the time of the land purchase in 2018, school officials thought it would be a great location for a career center, the current construction of Amplify Hancock on county roads 200 West and 300 North means that need no longer exists.
“We set aside the northern half of the property for a future elementary school,” Olin added. “That need does not exist at this time, yet we would like to have that option for the corporation as we look to the future. We are cognizant that three of our elementary schools are over 70 years old.”
While construction of tennis courts continues in the first weeks of the new school year, Manning is excited about the future of athletics in Greenfield-Central Schools.
A new gymnasium floor was installed earlier this year, offering technology in layers that provides lower fatigue, stress and recovery times for athletes. The new tennis courts and possible future expansions to athletic fields will be another welcome addition.
“These new courts will provide a high-quality tennis facility for both our boys and girls teams,” Manning said. Our current courts have really served us well, but cracks and worn spots really made these new courts an important project for our program.”
By Maribeth Vaughn
Manning said, “Our current courts have really served us well, but cracks and worn spots really made these new courts an important project for our program.”
