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RADFORD--Bisset Park, which lies in a picturesque stretch along the New River inside the city, provides recreational fields, playgrounds, picnic shelters, running and biking paths, access to the river, and other outdoor activities.

It also provides six tennis courts to the public. Until recently, the park's tennis courts were an eyesore compared with the rest of its facilities. No more. After an extensive resurfacing of the courts, the tennis-playing public has been arriving in increasing numbers to investigate.

"Basically the tennis courts had gotten to where they were unplayable," said Radford Director of Parks and Recreation Ken Goodyear. "The courts are 25 years old and they had so many cracks that it was virtually impossible to get on them. Plus, the net posts had actually come loose. ... It was impossible to get the net height correct."

In 2002, Goodyear sought public funding to renovate the Bisset tennis courts. Construction of the Memorial Bridge overhead slowed progress.

"The courts may have looked neglected for a long time, but it wasn't that we didn't want to fix them," Goodyear said. "We had to wait till after VDOT had cleared the bridge, so there was no sense in spending that money when there was bridge construction right above it."

In fall 2006, funding to begin the renovation project arrived. The city provided the recreation department $80,000 through the capital improvement program. Another $3,800 was chipped in by the U.S. Tennis Association.

When the renovation was approved, contractor Court One took over the project. The Raleigh, N.C.-based company specializes in renovating and constructing recreational surfaces.

"Court One did a combination of things for us," Goodyear said. "The courts were in such bad shape that a simple resurfacing wouldn't have fixed the problem."

Among the most serious issues were the loose net posts on each of the Bisset courts. To fix the problem, Court One cut out each post and dug new 3-foot deep holes. That turned out to be more expensive than expected.

"We felt that if we were going to spend $75,000 on resurfacing, we may as well spend another $5,000 to reset all the netposts," Goodyear said.

The money from the USTA has been earmarked for a concrete water fountain and some new benches. Those amenities will make it possible for the city to play host to tournaments, which Goodyear said the recreation department will pursue next summer. Prior commitments precluded those efforts this year, he said.

"We had tennis lessons this summer, but we also hosted the VHSL Spring Jubilee, the Fourth of July celebration and the Dixie Boys state baseball tournament," Goodyear said. "We were slammed this summer, but once we get a new recreation fitness supervisor, we'll work on getting USTA events set up for next year."

The park was used last spring as a practice facility for both the Big South tournament and the Jubilee. Coincidentally, Radford's men won the Big South and both the Radford High School boys' and girls' tennis finished as Group A runner-ups last spring.

Goodyear said he hopes that the renovated Bisset tennis courts will enhance the tennis scene in Radford. As it is, the local tennis community is strong.

"The Bisset courts are playable again and that's the most important thing," he said, "but they also look so much better than they did. The city of Radford takes pride in keeping our parks looking clean and nice and the renovated courts at Bisset are great."

New River Valley residents appreciate the Bisset tennis court renovations. Tim Barnette plays tennis with his 11-year-old daughter, Lindsey, at least three times a week.

"The Bisset courts look good and the surfaces are a lot better than they used to be," Barnette said. "The lights help a lot because when the time changes soon, there'll be a lot more people playing."

Susan Cox, a former Radford High School tennis coach who was the girls' coach at Blacksburg High last season, conducts numerous youth clinics in the Radford area.

When she coached at Radford, Cox used the Bisset courts before they became unplayable. At that time, sharing courts with the boys' team on the courts besides the high school made practicing for the girls team.

"I think Bisset is a lot better than Radford High School at this point," Cox said. "But the best part of Bisset is that it allows the high school to alternate back and forth. The girls' team can practice at one location and the boys can go to the other. It allows both teams to keep more players because there's more practice room to work with."

The Bisset courts are also useful to those who simply need something to do while family members participate in recreational sports elsewhere in the park.

Myles Cadwell, 20, sometimes plays tennis with his younger sister during their brother's rec soccer games.

"It can be disconcerting because you don't know what Radford High School will think about you using their facilities," Cadwell said. "So it's good to have a good facility here for the public to use. The lines are freshly painted, the lights work well and it provides a great place to come play."