By Emmy Powell, Net News Editor
The city of Atlanta has grown exponentially in the last several decades. Nothing can quite compare with the building boom of the 1970’s and 1980’s, which spurred the growth of ALTA leagues across the metro Atlanta area. However, there still is extensive growth potential for tennis, particularly in the counties north of the perimeter.
The times have dictated change, and for the first time since the late 1990’s, ALTA is expanding its boundaries for approved facilities. This is a two-year pilot program. ALTA Board Chairman Sandy Depa says it’s imperative that people in these areas who have asked to have an ALTA team not only get their teams on board and signed up, but that they help spread the word of the increased availability of teams who can play in their area. “We want them to share the exciting news because the more teams who participate, the less travel there will be,” says Depa. The goal is to increase membership, add more teams, and ultimately reduce travel time.
The key to understanding this is to zero in on the boundary areas. Now, all of Forsyth and Cherokee counties can have ALTA teams. The expansion also includes parts of Barrow, Jackson, and Hall counties.
Please be sure to check our website and all outgoing email regarding facility approval. We hope to have in place a complete page which details how you can get your facility added to the list of ALTA-approved sites. We’re hoping to make this as simple as possible and include all of the pertinent information on one web page. In the meantime, here are the details and changes to the current ALTA boundaries.
CURRENT REQUIREMENT:
• For ALTA New Facility Request: Facility must be within the 1998 boundary of the Atlanta five-county metro area (Clayton, Cobb, Dekalb, Fulton, Gwinnett)
• For ALTA Annexation Request: Facility must be located within 10 miles of the 1998 boundary of the Atlanta five-county metro area (Clayton, Cobb, Dekalb, Fulton, Gwinnett) and within 10 surface miles of an existing limited access highway.
Two-year pilot/test program proposed changes (started in the 2023 spring season):
• To add Cherokee and Forsyth counties as test /pilot counties to the Atlanta five-county metro area (Clayton, Cobb, Dekalb, Fulton, Gwinnett). Facility must be within the 1998 boundary of the Atlanta five-county metro area (Clayton, Cobb, Dekalb, Fulton, Gwinnett). As of spring season 2023, Cherokee and Forsyth counties are added as two-year test/pilot counties to the Atlanta five-county metro area (Clayton, Cobb, Dekalb, Fulton, Gwinnett). Cherokee and Forsyth counties will not have any mileage extensions from their county lines.
• Add to the Annexation Request the following: Facility must be located within 10 miles of the 1998 boundary of the Atlanta 5-County Metro Area (Clayton, Cobb, Dekalb, Fulton, Gwinnett) and within 10 surface miles of an existing limited access highway. For Hall, Jackson, and Barrow counties, a facility may be added as a test/pilot annexed facility if located within 15 miles from the Gwinnett County line and 15 surface miles from an existing limited access highway.
EXCEPTIONS:
• Junior Leagues and the Junior Challenge Ladder are not included
• At this time, due to the smaller number of teams and divisions, the AA levels of all leagues will not be able to be accommodated/be included in the test/pilot program.
• Any facility accepted into this test/pilot boundary program will not receive any grandfathered rights or status.
For more information, call the ALTA office at 770.399.5788.
