In August 2025, WLKY opened a story with lime green tennis balls all over the courts at Petersburg Park. Almost every summer evening, new players there were learning a proper swing, and many of them were learning it from Bruce Stone. Stone is a founding member of the Newburg Tennis Association. He was inducted into the Kentucky Tennis Hall of Fame in 2017, and he has taught hundreds of children and adults on those courts.
The city is now putting money into the same courts, plus the community center the park lists among its amenities. The money comes in three pieces with three different timelines. The first piece is finished. The second has a target date in spring 2027. The third is the most expensive, and it is funded but has no construction schedule. Here is what each piece is, along with the tennis program that was there first.
Stage one is complete, per the city's tracker
Louisville Parks keeps a public park improvements tracker. Its Petersburg Park entry lists a $740,000 project, paid from the city budget, to add new tennis courts at 5008 E. Indian Trail. The target was October 2026, and the entry's current phase reads "Complete" as of an October 9, 2026 update.
On the city's tennis page, Louisville Parks says its 115-plus tennis courts are free for public use on a first-come, first-served basis. Players can also reserve courts. Petersburg Park is open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Stage two is the six courts people already know
The same tracker has a second Petersburg Park entry that gets less attention. It lists resurfacing for the park's six older tennis courts, with a budget of $125,000. That project was "In Design" with a Spring 2027 target as of a September 29, 2026 update.
Compare the two numbers. The tracker lists the new courts, a paving job, at $740,000. Resurfacing six existing courts costs about a sixth of that. Put the two together and the park ends up with new courts plus refreshed old ones. That's a meaningful bump in capacity for a park that already hosts sanctioned junior tournaments.
The tournament that fills those courts
Those tournaments run through the Newburg Tennis Association, which USTA Kentucky lists among the Louisville area's community tennis associations, with Denise Murphy as president. USTA Kentucky describes community tennis associations as volunteer-based nonprofits that offer things like adult leagues, junior team tennis, tournaments and beginner clinics.
The association's best-known event is the Charles Crawford Juneteenth Invitational, played on Petersburg Park's outdoor hard courts. USTA's records show it running in back-to-back years:
- June 20–21, 2025. The 2025 edition was held at Petersburg Park.
- June 19–20, 2026. The 2026 edition had boys' and girls' divisions up through 18-and-under, plus coed 10-and-under Green and Orange ball events. Bruce Stone was the tournament director.
The tournament is named for Charles Crawford. In February, USTA Kentucky announced that he had been selected for the 2026 class of the Black Tennis Hall of Fame in the "Regional Legend" category.
The association's results reach past Newburg too. In 2019, WLKY reported on a women's team that won the USTA Women's 2.5 Kentucky State Championship. One of its captains had been introduced to tennis at an NTA clinic. The association has also run lower-barrier programs. One example is a free adult Red Ball Tennis session at Petersburg Park in May 2025, led by Bill Hughes Jr. and billed as a social introduction to the game.
Stone has described the cost question plainly. Speaking to WLKY about the summer camps, he said:
"Tennis in the long run is an expensive sport, but we offer... not free... but a low minimum price and we have a good turn out."
That's the context for the city's money. The new courts and the spring resurfacing add pavement under a program that has been running low-cost camps and sanctioned events at this park for years. Anyone looking for upcoming camps can check the Newburg Tennis Association's USTA camps page, which the association points people to for its programs.
Stage three moves indoors
The third stage is a gym, and it is the largest of the three. Metro's fiscal year 2026–2027 executive budget lists Project #21, the Newburg Community Center. The project "supports the design, permitting, and construction of a new gymnasium," with a goal of more indoor recreation and community programming capacity.
| Funding piece | Amount |
|---|---|
| Bond | $4,000,000 |
| Community Development Block Grant | $1,900,000 |
| Total | $5,900,000 |
WLKY reported in June that Metro Council approved the FY27 budget with the $5.9 million gym allocation in it. In July, the Metro Council Democratic Caucus listed it first among District 2's budget items, ahead of a $200,000 playground replacement at Norfolk Acres Park. This builds on earlier money. The caucus's January 2026 recap credited District 2 Councilwoman Dr. Barbara Shanklin with securing $1.8 million for a Newburg Community Center expansion.
The three stages together:
- New tennis courts: $740,000, marked complete
- Resurfacing six older courts: $125,000, in design, Spring 2027 target
- New community center gymnasium: $5.9 million, funded for design, permitting and construction
That comes to roughly $6.77 million in three line items. About seven of every eight dollars go to the indoor project. The center's own page already lists a gym among its amenities, so the budget money pays for a new gymnasium on top of what's there.
What's open at the center now
The Newburg Community Center is at 4810 Exeter Ave. Posted hours are Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. It's closed Sundays, and the phone number is (502) 456-8122. Metro describes its programming as covering all ages, including youth sports and neighborhood events, and links an online registration calendar. Dare to Care Kids Cafe is posted for Monday through Thursday, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Amenities include the gym, meeting space and free Wi-Fi. The city's page doesn't show an update date, so call ahead before you plan a visit around those hours.
The rest of the 28 acres
The tennis courts are one part of a park the city lists at 28 acres, acquired in 1971. The amenity list includes a sprayground, a skate park, a futsal court, a mini-pitch, a multipurpose field, soccer, a ballfield, basketball, pickleball, an inclusive and wheelchair-accessible playground, a tot lot, picnic shelters and grills, a walking path, restrooms and Wi-Fi. It's also where Metro scheduled this year's Newburg Days festival for August 7–9, with vendors, food, children's activities, a parade, music and sports tournaments at Petersburg/Newburg Park near E. Indian Trail and Petersburg Road.
Today the park has new courts, six older courts waiting on a spring resurfacing, and a community center with a second gym funded. The city's improvement tracker is where the resurfacing will show up next when its status changes.
ZHomes Real Estate is rooted in South Louisville, and we watch projects like these because they shape daily life in Newburg. If you'd like a straight read on how park and community center investments show up around your street, or want to know what your Newburg home is worth today, our bilingual team is ready to help. Request your home valuation and we'll walk through it with you.
