Sportsmen’s Tennis & Enrichment Center (STEC), the Dorchester facility that has served up tennis and life lessons to thousands of kids and adults over the last six decades, is halfway through its $12 million expansion project. Last Thursday, STEC leaders and elected officials gathered for a ceremony to mark the near-completion of the first phase, which has brought four new courts into the indoor campus at 950 Blue Hill Ave.

“We were originally seven indoor courts and seven outdoor courts. This new building frames up four of our outdoor courts to give us eleven courts,” said Charlynne Mines-Smart, STEC’s chief operating officer. “That will expand our programming all year round.”

The new four-court facility increases Sportsmen’s indoor capacity by almost 60 percent. Final touches are being to the $6 million addition, which is led by Kaplan Construction. Phase Two, which will further expand STEC’s facilities and programming, will connect the two buildings and create The Bud Collins Tennis Welcome Center, which will include a 3,500-square-foot fitness center, lounges, locker rooms, and additional classroom space. The third and final phase will bring outdoor improvements to space behind the facility that is used by the STEC summer camp, including two new outdoor courts that will join the three already there.

Founding board member Mildred Jones looks forward to seeing people of all ages utilize the new indoor courts.

“We’ve raised over $10 million and we’re not finished yet,” said chief executive officer Toni Wiley. “The creativity that you see comes from the fact that people said this is what this community deserves.” 

Wiley, who also serves as the vice president of the United States Tennis Association New England, was joined by the association’s president, Adam Molda, at Thursday’s event. 

“Every time I come here; I think of all the people whose lives have been fundamentally changed because of this mission,” Molda said. “All the kids who graduated from high school or college just because they went to this program. All the kids that learned to play tennis, made new friends, played on a high school team, went on to play tennis in college all because of Sportsmen’s.”

Lindsey Dashiell, a current STEC board member, grew up playing at the Dorchester center.

“Sportsmen’s not only provided me with the opportunity to play with and be coached by a diverse set of people, but I credit Sportsmen’s with growing my game and committing in me and allowing me to play D-1 tennis at Yale University,” said Dashiell. “Today marks an incredible moment for the club and the best part about it is this is just the beginning.”

District 4 City Councilor Brian Worrell, also a “STEC kid, said, “I love how much the club has opened its doors to people who might not otherwise have access to tennis. “Long before Coco [Gauff] long before the Williams sisters, it was the Sportsmen’s Tennis Center that introduced me to tennis.” 

State Sen. Liz Miranda said the expansion project was an important investment in her district. “It’s not just about learning to play a sport. As a former hurdler and a basketball player, [I know that] sports do something to young people you can’t explain or put in books,” she said. “A lot of times, [with] resilience, strength, the ability to bounce back from failure or missed opportunity, you learn that on the court.”

STEC, founded in 1961 by the late Jim and Gloria Smith, was the first non-profit tennis club in the United States built by and for the Black community. Mildred Jones, a founding board member, attended Thursday’s ceremony. She thinks that tennis is “a good building block for any child,” but reminded everyone that STEC is “not only for the children but for the adults to still come out and play.” 

As people of all ages utilize the former spaces and future resources, STEC will continue to do just as Toni Wiley said: “Serve generations to come.”