Historic Pool Converts to Tennis Courts

Monroe officials are bouncing around a new plan for an aging site at Forsythe Park. City grant coordinator rod guy says Swayze pool is a perfect fit for a set of tennis courts.

"The 10 tennis courts will fit exactly on the place where the swimming pools is today," says Guy.

Pools at Forysthe Park used to be a big deal. In fact Swayze pool was built to replace a popular natural salt water pool from the early-nineteen hundreds.

"When they built the levee they covered the salt water natatorium then they built this," says Guy.

Swayze was built back in 1935. Now, fast forward to 2010 and the historic pool is now a liability and is too costly to fix.

"It was going to cost 3 million dollars to revitalize the pool the city didn't want to pay that money,” says Guy.

The cost of putting in the courts will be about 1.2 million dollars, but it's not a done deal yet. The city will find out next if the city will find out if the money was approved or if it wasn't approved. If they get the money, guy says it will only take about six months to turn this pool into those 10 tennis courts. Not only will tennis courts get rid of an eyesore, they could bring in millions of dollars to the city by hosting statewide tournaments. With 18 total tennis courts, Monroe would be able to compete for the tournaments with larger cities, like Shreveport and New Orleans.