Friends of Saratoga Spa State Park Tennis Survey
Fall 2016/Winter 2017
Introduction
First and foremost, the Friends would like to thank you for participating in this valuable
research. We’d also like to thank EDA Research, Inc. (Ed Dowling) for his guidance, diligence
and programmatic expertise in producing the survey. Ed, along with the other tennis
subcommittee volunteers, strongly believe in the importance of public input in providing the
Park’s administration feedback on how best to maximize use of the existing tennis facilities for
the foreseeable future.
The survey had three basic goals. First was to identify patterns of court usage. Secondly,
what problems/issues have been experienced by players in terms of usability. Lastly, would
the respondents be willing to financially support, on an annual basis, the conversion of the 4
asphalt courts to Har-Tru.
Surveys were distributed via e-mail to approximately 250 tennis players in the
immediate Saratoga Springs area and adjacent communities. Names were obtained from the
Friends’ donor list, various tennis league rosters and “word of mouth”. This canvassing
resulted in 100+ respondents which correlates to an excellent return rate of over forty
percent.
A summary of the findings is shown in the following page of this document. There is a
wealth of data with some clear preference, on the part of players, emerging from this report.
It is the subcommittee’s hope that this data will play a major role in the Administration’s
decision making process concerning asphalt court renovation.
The subcommittee would also like to recognize the Friends’ directors of their support
over the last three years as we’ve discussed/studied court renovation. Also, we would like to
extend this same appreciation to Mike Greenslade and his staff who willingly assisted the
subcommittee on this undertaking.
Summary
97% of persons participating in the survey play tennis at Saratoga Park.
75% play on the clay courts 2 or more times a week.
92% of you play on the asphalt courts less than once per week, with 77% stating you seldom or never play on
the asphalt courts.
94% of you have experienced wait time to play on the clay courts. Of those waiting, 56% noted their average
wait time is 15-30 minutes and 40% note an average wait time of 31-60 minutes.
82% of you either modify your play time or switch to another location to avoid wait time to play on a clay
court.
We asked you to rank the 3-most important reasons you play at SPA Park and here’s how you scored it:
1
2
3
4
5
Opportunity to play on clay courts
Quality of the clay courts
Convenient location of tennis courts
Opportunity to play in local tournaments.
Opportunity to play on both clay and hard courts
415
356
268
98
61
We asked you to select from a list the one improvement you would most like to see happen to the park tennis
courts and by a significant majority 82% of you chose 4-additional clay courts. The only other item of interest
to you was nighttime lighting for the clay courts, which was chosen by 10% of you.
Finally, we asked you if you’d be willing to pay a seasonal access fee (key card access) of $95 to offset the
increased maintenance cost of 4-additional clay courts. 66% of tennis players were very or extremely likely to
participate in this program with only 11% noting they would be unlikely to participate.
Report by EDA Research, Inc.
Do you play tennis at Saratoga Park?
Value
Percent
Yes
No
97.3%
2.7%
Total
Count
109
3
112
How often do you play tennis at Saratoga Park?
Value
Percent
1-2 x per week
3 x per week
4 x per week
5 x per week
1-3 x per month
A few times a season
37.4%
26.2%
8.4%
2.8%
14.0%
11.2%
Total
Count
40
28
9
3
15
12
107
Of the times you play how many times do you play on the clay
courts?
Value
Percent
1x per week
2-3x per week
4-5x per week
Less than once a week
Seldom/Never
11.9%
63.4%
11.9%
11.9%
1.0%
Total
Count
12
64
12
12
1
101
And how often do you play on the asphalt courts?
Value
Percent
1x Weekly
2-3x Weekly
Less than once a week
Seldom/Never
3.9%
3.9%
15.7%
76.5%
Total
Count
4
4
16
78
102
Have you experienced wait time to play on the clay courts?
Value
Percent
Yes
No
94.1%
5.9%
Total
Count
96
6
102
When you've had to wait, on average, how long was the wait time?
Value
Percent
Less than 15 Minutes
15-30 Minutes
31-60 Minutes
Over 60 Minutes
2.1%
56.3%
39.6%
2.1%
Total
Count
2
54
38
2
96
Do you modify your play time or switch your play to another
location to avoid wait time at the Park?
Value
Percent
No
Yes, I modify my play time
Yes, I switch to another location
17.6%
58.8%
50.0%
Count
18
60
51
Please rank the 3-most important reasons you play tennis at SPA
Park in order of their importance to you.
Overall Rank
Item
1
2
3
4
5
Score
Opportunity to play on clay courts
Quality of the clay courts
Convenient location of tennis courts
Opportunity to play in local tournaments.
Opportunity to play on both clay and hard courts
415
356
268
98
61
From the following list, please select the one improvement you
would most like to see happen to the Park tennis courts.
Value
Percent
4-Additional clay courts
Resurface asphalt courts
Night time lighting for clay courts
Night time lighting for asphalt courts
Other (Please Specify)
82.4%
4.9%
9.8%
1.0%
2.0%
Total
Count
84
5
10
1
2
102
Please read the following statement and rate how likely you would
be to participate. The Park is considering 4 new clay courts. The
Department of Parks is concerned about the cost of maintenance of
the clay courts which would run about $10,000 per year. The Park
Administration is considering proposing controlled access to the
clay courts, e.g. key card access, to offset the increased
maintenance costs. It is anticipated that 8-courts (4-additional
courts) would meet members needs with rarely any waiting.
Controlled access would cost approximately $95 per person, per
season and entitle supporters to unlimited play. Non-members
would be assessed a court fee of approximately $5 per person, per
hour.
Value
Percent
Extremely Unlikely
Unlikely
Might or Might Not
Very Likely
Extremely Likely
7.5%
3.2%
23.7%
32.3%
33.3%
Total
Count
7
3
22
30
31
93