When first opened in 1971, River Trails was one of only a few indoor tennis clubs in the Chicagoland area. Playing tennis year-round was becoming increasing popular and we were forced to build another 3 courts the following year to keep up with the increasing demand. Since tennis was primarily an outdoor sport, seven Har-Tru (clay) courts were included in the plans.
League tennis was the right idea from the very beginning. A founding partner and the first General Manager, Nelson Campbell was way ahead of his time by pioneering competitive in-house league play. Nelson was recognized by the Chicago District Patrons with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004. Presenter Alan Schwartz (founder of Midtown Tennis and former President of the USTA) observed that Nelson was way ahead of the USTA and all other indoor clubs in recognizing the value of league tennis.
USTA League tennis came along in 1980 and River Trails was again in the forefront, sending a 5.0 men's team to the fist Sectionals in Kalamazoo. In 2004 the league season expanded to include winter play and we hosted 45 teams. In 2009 we saw the number increase to 79 teams.
Over the years numerous upgrades have been made to the facility to protect the integrity of the building and keep us up-to-date. Between 1996 and 1998 a new roof was installed and a complete replacement of all court lighting was accomplished. This past summer another round of renovations was completed with new carpeting, wallpaper and updating the lounge furniture.
This web site is the second generation, our first revision since its inception in 2005.
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