Sportsmen’s Tennis and Enrichment Center (STEC)

The addition to and renovation of Sportsmen’s Tennis & Enrichment Center (STEC) in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood reflects tennis’s growing popularity in STEC’s community. STEC offers recreational and competitive programs centered on promoting tennis to some of Boston’s most underserved young people. Constructed in 1961, it was the first US tennis club founded for and by the Black community and continues to serve communities of color by offering tennis, after school academic programs, and summer camps. This project adds 8,300 sq. ft. to the facility including a prominent new welcome center and administration wing, an infill building containing new locker rooms, a fitness center, and a core social space where STEC patrons can engage and interact casually.

In addition to the new building, the project includes two new outdoor tennis courts with viewing areas and a landscaped playscape that enlivens the outdoor lawn and extends from the building toward Blue Hill Avenue to create a stronger pedestrian connection to the neighborhood. The project also includes a renovation of 8,600 sq. ft. of existing space, including the improvement of the Enrichment wing to increase capacity and youth programming. The renovation of the existing entry into multifunctional space with a viewing room facing the indoor tennis courts and a demonstration kitchen capable of catering to various group activities expands STEC’s ability to offer increased and more varied programming as it continues to innovate ways to support its community.