A city-owned tennis center in Fort Worth, known as the "Cheers" of tennis, may be getting new management.
It's in Rosemont Park off West Seminary. But players there are now fighting the city to keep the community they love alive.
You come to McLeland Tennis Center for a game, but you’ll stay for each other.
“It’s such a community feeling,” said player Jane Buell. “You don’t get that very much anymore.”
And you’ll stay for Tom.
“We’ve called ourselves the tribe,” said player Stacey Mund. “It’s the tribe here and Tom is the leader of the tribe.”
Tom Buell has managed the place more than 11 years. He’s there every day with a cheer, and maybe even a serenade. NBC 5's camera caught him singing along to the song, “Hit the Road Jack.”
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But now it’s the city telling Tom to hit the road.
“About six months ago, they came and said they were going to cut our contract short and take the thing out for bid,” said Tom Buell.
The city ended up picking another company out of McKinney to manage the center. That is until the Tribe stepped in.
“We’re fighting city hall because they’ve just tried to steamroll it over us,” said player Roger Jones.
About 100 players turned out at city council telling story after story of what the place, and its manager, mean.
“He may have hundreds of people circulating throughout the week,” said Mund. “He knows their name, what they do for a living, he knows their kids’ names. He understands what everyone is going through.”
That sense of family is so strong, two of the players even got married on Court 3 in front of a crowd of their tennis friends and another pair got engaged during drills.
“It just goes to show how close everybody is here,” said Buell.
After seeing that, city council decided to delay the management changeover for six weeks. They’re gathering information to take a closer look next month, leading to another lesson off the court.
“We’re just learning how to stand up for what we want and what we need,” said Jane Buell.
And fighting for a phrase printed on the players' t-shirts: “Keep Tom and Play On.”
The McKinney company that won the bid promised more revenue. But players worry that would mean fee hikes, which haven't changed since Buell took over, and players say if they walk, the revenue goes with them.
