Sioux Park in Rapid City is getting the chance to showcase their updated venue this week as they play host to the ‘A’ and ‘AA’ boys state tennis tournaments. The venue has undergone a serious renovation that has resulted in a top tennis spot in the state.
Twelve courts, grandstand seating, shaded areas in other seating spots, a grass hill, and a new lighting system have set the standard of what a top-notch tennis facility looks like.
Jason Olson, who is the long-time tennis coach at Rapid City Stevens, was also heavily involved in the process with the tennis court remodel. His vision and passion for the sport helped lead the charge with this new project.
“I started playing at the old Sioux Park, which they used to freeze in the wintertime and make into an ice skating rink back in the 60’s and 70’s, so that was falling apart,” Olson explained. "So, we got a new Sioux Park built, which we had for 20-years or so, and it was beautiful too, but they didn’t fix all the infrastructure and the grounds, so it was sinking.”
This led to the challenge and journey of renovating Sioux Park again. Only this time, with brand new infrastructure to go along with it. One of the obvious hurdles was the funding, but another key goal was getting others on board who also understood that upgrades were needed.
“I told them “We’ve got to get this done.” People were getting injured on the courts. If we didn’t fix them, there was going to be a serious injury. The cracks were getting so bad,” said Olson. “The general public didn’t know, because it looked so beautiful, until you got out there. I just wanted to get this done, because I’m 55-years old and I’ve been coaching Stevens tennis now for many years. This is hopefully my last Sioux Park.”
In total, this new project came in at around $4 million. Seventy-five percent of it was funded by Rapid City’s Vision Fund. The remainder was funded through other grants and donations. And throughout the process, there was coach Olson, the projects biggest cheerleader, watching it come together.
“It’s been my home away from home. I sleep almost here,” Olson said chuckling. “During the construction, the construction workers, every one of them knew my name, because I was here every day. I could do my work here. They were awesome, letting me be involved in the process.”
At the end of the day, this was made for the people of Rapid City. It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner or an 80-year-old, the park is for everyone.
“This is the city’s facility, and it’s beautiful. It’s going to allow us to keep having the state tournament here,” exclaimed Olson. “Once people get out here, they love this facility and they love Sioux Park, and I think we do a really good job running events out here.”
Olson still works hard as a coach too, coaching both boys and girls at Stevens. And while he obviously wants his school to perform well and be successful, he’s an advocate for the sport as a whole in South Dakota and wants to see everyone do well.
“Watertown has good tennis, Mitchell has good tennis, Yankton has great tennis. Milbank, Madison, all those schools, Aberdeen. I love to go to Aberdeen, they do such a good job of hosting tournaments,” he said. “My biggest thing is there’s other places out there besides Rapid and Sioux Falls, who are growing the game of tennis. It’s great that we do well, but my biggest thing is I want everyone to do well. It’s a great game.”
After spending most of Monday taking in the new look with the tennis courts at Sioux Park, it is gorgeous, and Rapid City should be proud of this state-of-the-art facility.
Well done, Coach Olson and Rapid City.
