Dear Member: The Blackthorn Club Indoor Tennis Feasibility ...

Dear Member:

The Blackthorn Club Indoor Tennis Feasibility Committee has been working on plans to
bring a two court facility to the Club. After a period of research on different installation
types and construction process models, a design-build athletic facility general
contractor, Indoor Courts of America (ICA), was retained with private money from ten
interested member families, and has generated preliminary drawings and obtained
construction bids. The base price of the facility is 653K with additional options priced
below. Drawing are attached on pages 6-8. These discretionary elements include the
following main items:

1) Softer playing surface.
! See: <http://www.novasports.com/products_ULTRACUSHION.htm>

! Add $5100

2) Appendix bump-out with bathroom, observation area and storage
!
! Add $48,000

3) Twelve feet of room on either side of each court (120' x 120' footprint) versus a
minimum of seven feet (100' x 120')

!
! Add $74,000
!
!
4) Upgraded liner material for ceilings. This has both lighting as well as aesthetic

benefit. See <http://www.icasbs.com/ceilingSystems/ICARFC.aspx>
!
! Add $25,000

5) Air conditioning and additional recommended insulation

! AC $35,000. Insulation package $54,000.
! See <http://www.icasbs.com/ceilingSystems/EnergyMiser.aspx>

The building design calls for retractable openings which would allow for sheltered warm
weather play. See <http://www.icasbs.com/coveredcourts/courts.asp> If air
conditioning is chosen, however, the insulation efficiency requirements are such that
these openings should be omitted.

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The Club has taken the position that the facility must pay for itself. It will therefore
require formation of an LLC, which will be owned by the participating members, and
which in turn will own the building. The land would be leased by the Club long-term to
the LLC at a nominal rate (e.g. $1/yr).

At this stage, the Committee needs to gauge the interest level of the membership in
order to perform additional financial analysis for the project. We envision two forms of
membership. The first type, Equity, would pay an initial lump sum, own shares in the
LLC, and pay no dues, or reduced dues. The second type, non-Equity, would pay
regular dues. Both types would pay for court time, expected to be in the $20-$30 hourly
range. Any borrowing will have to be privately guaranteed, as the building will obviously
have no value to a bank. Those who volunteer as loan guarantors will by necessity
receive additional ownership interest in the LLC.

A buy-out agreement would exist to allow for the event that the Club is sold and the new
owners wished to have control of indoor tennis, but would specify a buy-out price
agreement whose purpose is to set a fair transaction price.

It is the Committee's hope that this is not a "make or break" moment for indoor tennis at
Blackthorn but that rather, this is a project that will move forward sooner or later when
interest and funding reaches critical mass. Creating a membership option for non-
Blackthorn members and for local companies/corporations is another option that can be
explored as well. It is further believed that once an indoor tennis facility is built, it will
attract new Blackthorn tennis members from other clubs, and strengthen The Ridges as
a premier residential community. The facility will be sited so that it can be expanded for
an additional court and/or a workout area if there is interest.

If financial analysis indicates the project is not yet feasible, we can either shift into a
fundraising mode or decide to simply periodically revisit the interest level and
willingness to pay on the part of the members. Our relationship and preliminary work
with ICA will remain in place and the bids can be updated as needed.

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Please print and answer the questions on pages 4 and 5 and return those pages to
myself, Shane Honeker, or John Lucchesi as soon as possible.
Construction time is 12-16 weeks.
Sincerely,
Ben Knox
Chairman, Indoor Tennis Feasibility Committee
410 Heather View Dr.
Jonesborough TN 37659
[email protected]
h) 423-788-3940
c) 423-579-4165
Terry and April Borel
Erica Byrd
Roger and Sandy Cox
Richard Duncan
Tom and Cecile Huddleston
Lisa Knox
Clarence Mabe
Bud McCreary
Jeff & Tracey Moffatt
Hanes and Stacey Torbett
Tom and Polly Torbett

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QUESTIONS

1) I am interested in indoor tennis:! ___ Yes! ___ No (please answer only
questions 7 and 8)

2) My household participation would be:! ___ Single! ___ Family (number: ___)

3) My family and I would expect to play, during the indoor season (Oct.15 to Mar. 15) on
average, the following number of times per week (please check one for Single
members; for family members, write the number of players next to the applicable
amount):

___ 1 or less ___1-2 (industry average) ___ 2-3 ___ more

4) I would be willing to pay, at most, the following to bring indoor tennis to Blackthorn
(answer both if desired for information purposes, but recognize that joining Members will
only be required to do one or the other):

Equity: ___ $5,000 ___ $10,000 ___ $15,000 ___ $20,000

Non-Equity: ___ $500/yr ___ $750/yr ___ $1000/yr ___$1500/yr ___$2000/yr

5) I would expect to be the following type of member: ___ Equity ___ Non-Equity

6) I would be willing to purchase additional shares in the LLC beyond what is required
for membership in order to bring indoor tennis to Blackthorn: ___ Yes ___ No

7) I know of a local company, or corporation with a local presence, that might be
interested in either making a donation to Blackthorn indoor tennis or having a corporate
membership program:
___ Yes ___ No

8) I personally know a non-Blackthorn tennis player who would join the Club if we have
indoor tennis.
___ Yes ___ No

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9) Please rate these discretionary elements for a facility with the following grades:
(1) must have (2) willing to pay extra for it (3) not willing to pay extra for it (4) not sure
(5) depends on cost
! A) Softer playing surface ___
! B) Bathroom/observation appendix ___
! C) Wider spaces on sides of court ___

D) Enhanced insulation/visual background ___
! E) Air conditioning (no warm weather openings) ___
10) Which of the preceding four is most important to you? (circle one) A B C D E
11) Least important? A B C D E
Suggestions/Comments:

My name (this helps us determine percentage of responders):

Thank you for taking the time to complete this.

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