Arlington Heights Park District Courts

Arlington Heights Park District serves the community in several different ways, including offering a variety of beautiful parks throughout the Village. Each park has its own unique charm and presents a diverse list of amenities. Eriksson Engineering Associates, Ltd. (EEA) collaborated with the Park District on renovations for tennis, pickleball and basketball courts throughout Volz, Dryden, and Sunset Ridge Parks.

Located in the south-central portion of Arlington Heights, Volz Park is home to an existing playground, baseball field, and open greenery for soccer practices. Prior to design and construction, the park site included one tennis court and two pickleball courts. When the original courts had reached their useful end, and due to the sport’s rising popularity, the space was converted into six pickleball courts only. In addition to the pickleball courts, EEA also designed the renovation and expansion of the adjacent half court basketball area.

Representing one of the older parks in the Village, Dryden Park originally held four tennis courts, which EEA converted into six pickleball courts and two new tennis courts. The updated courts help round out the park’s existing amenities, which include a small playground for children aged five years old and under, a larger playground for older children, a ball field and open green space.

Additionally, EEA designed the renovation and reconstruction of the basketball court and adjacent walking path at Sunset Ridge Park, which is located in northern Arlington Heights.

After receiving the geotechnical report, it was determined that all of the existing facilities had poor subgrade materials that either contained deleterious materials from prior construction activity, buried topsoil, or poor bearing soils. With the additional knowledge, the scope was revised to include a full-depth reconstruction for all the courts to increase the longevity of the park improvements.

A Tensar GeoGrid fabric was specified to bridge over areas with poor bearing strength. The use of this product provided a structural benefit for the new pavement section while simultaneously reducing unforeseen costs associated with undercuts. Underdrainage improvements were proposed at the courts located in separate sewer areas, as allowed by the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District. The underdrains assist in removing accumulated runoff from the aggregate base of the pavement in hopes of extending the lifespan of the pavement section and provide protection from the freeze-thaw cycles of the region.