Las Vegas city leaders are set to break ground on a $4.9 million tennis facility upgrade at Lorenzi Park, bringing new courts, a clubhouse, and a fresh name to one of the city's oldest public parks. The project will add three new tennis courts and refinish the 10 existing ones at the park near Washington Avenue and Rancho Drive, creating new recreational amenities for neighborhoods throughout Ward 5.
Ward 5 Councilwoman Shondra Summers-Armstrong is set to join neighbors at Lorenzi Park on Tuesday, Oct. 20, for the scheduled groundbreaking, according to FOX5 Vegas. The finished complex will be named the Marty Hennessey Tennis Center at Lorenzi Park, honoring the tennis community figure whose associated foundation has long used sports and mentoring to support underserved youth in the valley, according to the Eighth Judicial District Court. An annual tennis tournament pitting the legal community against the medical community raises money for the foundation.
Starke Contractors will build the project, with TSK Architects serving as the design team and the Las Vegas Public Works Department overseeing construction, per the same FOX5 Vegas report. Beyond the courts themselves, the project includes a dedicated tennis clubhouse featuring a check-in area, a multipurpose room, restrooms, and storage space.
Federal Land Sales, Not Local Taxes, Foot the Bill
Federal Land Sales Support the Project The project receives funding through the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act, which channels proceeds from federal land sales in the valley into local community and public land projects, the station notes. Since the law's inception in 1998, SNPLMA has generated more than $4.5 billion from Las Vegas Valley public land sales across 20 funding rounds, financing parks, trails, and environmental work throughout Nevada, according to the Bureau of Land Management. The law directs 85 percent of proceeds from federal public land sales in Clark County toward local public benefit and conservation projects.
The City of Las Vegas's Five-Year Capital Improvement Plan for fiscal years 2024 through 2028 outlines planned city capital projects, according to the City of Las Vegas. In October 2024, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced more than $375 million in SNPLMA land-sale proceeds for recreation and restoration projects in Nevada and California.
One of Las Vegas's Oldest Parks Keeps Evolving
Lorenzi Park's roots stretch back nearly a century. Founded in 1926 by French immigrant David G. Lorenzi, the 60-acre park is listed on both the City of Las Vegas Historic Property Register and the Nevada State Register of Historic Places, per the city. It opened as Lorenzi's Lake Park with a pool and dance pavilion, served as the Twin Lakes Lodge through the 1940s and 1950s, and became a city park in the 1960s.
A major investment came in August 2013, when the city completed a comprehensive $30 million renovation that added new play areas, picnic structures, rose gardens, historical markers, and updated basketball and tennis courts, according to Las Vegas Weekly. That overhaul transformed the historic site into a modern recreational hub while preserving its spring-fed twin lakes and legacy features.
A Growing Hub for Racquet Sports in Ward 5
Lorenzi Park has already built a national reputation on the tennis court. In August 2023, the U.S. Tennis Association recognized the park at an awards ceremony during the U.S. Open in New York as one of 29 outstanding public small tennis facilities in the country, as reported by 963 KKLZ. The park also serves as home base for the No Quit Tennis Academy.
