The land for Blair Park was purchased in 1944 in anticipation of Urbana growing south after WWII.  It was named for Joseph Blair, long time president of the Urbana Park Board.  The four lighted tennis courts were added in 1970.  Urbana High School started a boys’ tennis team in 1966 and a girls’ team in 1972.  Tennis lessons and leagues became very popular in the mid 1970’s as well as the annual USTA junior tournament and the city-wide adult tournament.

The Urbana Park District was recently awarded a $400,000 OSLAD grant to revitalize the aging Blair Park. This specific type of grant tends to award new recreational amenities for parks, therefore, the tennis courts were not included in this recent application. That’s where a group of Blair Park Tennis Alumni and Urbana Parks Foundation Trustee Nancy Schrumpf come in. Together, along with our friends and fellow tennis players, we are launching a campaign to raise $160,000 to cover the costs associated with updating the four tennis courts located at Blair Park. Court improvements funded through this campaign will include restoration of the asphalt playing surfaces, new tennis posts and nets, sealing and color coating the courts, and fresh painted lines for both tennis and Pickleball.

If we do not reach our fundraising goal, donations will be used for tennis court improvements rather than a complete renovation.